‘UNDP has laid foundations for climate change response in Nigeria’

The United Nations Development Programme  (UNDP), has said Global Environment Facility (GEF)  project has laid the foundations for climate change response in Nigeria.

UNDP said the five-year project laid its foundation through the development of draft policies, institutional structures, better data and food security information systems with community adaptation practices.

It further noted that before the five-year project launch, a number of states had reported populations at risk of food insecurity for several years in a row.

The Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Nigeria Country Office, Lealem Berhanu Dinku stated this at the GEF project closing event in Abuja.

Dinku explained that the project specifically focused at enhancing long-term sustainability and resilience of food production systems in Nigeria by building greater community resilience to climate risks and other shocks that drive food insecurity in seven states of Savanna zone and 14 local governments.

He noted that the GEF project has aimed to achieve integrated climate resilience considerations through enhanced policy and institutional enabling environment driven with improved food security in a sustainable, resilient and value-chains, scaled-up sustainable land and water management, reduced gender disparities among others.

According to him, more than 90,000 direct jobs and 800,000 indirect jobs has been created through various livelihood and income generating activities.

He added that more than 500,000 women have been empowered through the project’s climate smart agriculture and livelihood interventions with both on-farm and off-farm income generating activities.

“Through the land restoration efforts, over 100 hectares of degraded soil erosion land has been restored.

“In response to the recurring food security situation, this GEF project over the last five years, has built resilience in the transformation process of strengthening the capacity of men, women, communities, institutions and states in a more strategic, sustainable and coordinated manner”, he said.

In her remarks, the Project Manager, Rhoda Dia noted that the communities that have been trained on technology have adopted it over 70 percent.

While explaining that a technology adoption survey was carried out by UNDP, she said the survey showed that the communities have internalised the technology and put it to good use.

On sustainability of the project, they have agriculture centres with extension agents in the communities where farmers and other beneficiaries have been trained.

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