Incentivising Adoption of Climate Smart Practices in Cereals Production in Nigeria: Socio-cultural and Economic Diagnosis

Contexte: 

While agriculture remain the principal source of livelihood in sub-Saharan Africa, the traditional slash and burn farming system in the region with its rising dependence on agrochemical has been found to be unsustainable. It drives massive deforestation, desertification and land degradation leading to declining agricultural productivity, loss of ecosystem health, rising poverty and food insecurity. Hence, a shift to Climate-smart farming systems is considered crucial in the pursuits of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in SSA. This project therefore, examines the socio-cultural and economic factors driving land use choices among smallholder farmers in Nigeria and exploits the framework by which widespread adoption of Climate-smart Practices (CSPs) may be incentivised to stop/reverse land degradation, restore ecosystem health, enhance livelihood outcomes and build resilience to climate change, with rice and maize farmers as examples. The study is by cross-section survey and choice experiments in which relevant data are collected by reconnaissance survey, field observation, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and personal interview of farmers across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

Objectifs: 

 

The broad objective of the study is to evaluate socio-economic impacts of adopting Climate Smart Practices (CSPs) in maize and rice production, and identify appropriate mechanisms by which wide-spread adoption of CSPs may be incentivized to stop/reverse land degradation, restore ecosystem health, enhance livelihood outcomes and build resilience to climate change, with rice and maize farmers in Nigeria as examples

Specific Objectives are to:

  • Identify, classify and GIS-map existing production systems, technologies and innovative practices (including those based on indigenous knowledge) by which rice and maize farmers in Nigeria combats, adapts or build resilience to climate change;
  • Assess farmers’ awareness, perceptions, skill levels (knowledge gaps) and adoption rates of various CSPs available for rice and maize production across various ecologies in Nigeria; disaggregated by gender, age, and other socio-cultural and economic groups;
  • Determine the costs, returns and production efficiencies associated with adoption of various CSPs in rice and maize production as well as the socio-economic impacts in terms of employment generation, poverty reduction, food security and women / youth empowerment
  • Assess the roles (or potentials) of socio-cultural factors like gender inequality, Land Tenure and Property Rights (LTRPs), social capital and women empowerment, among others – in shaping farmers’ adoption or Willingness to Accept (WTA) incentives to embrace CSPs decisions, among other determinants; and
  • Assess the trade-offs that smallholder farmers are willing to make to combat land degradation, enhance sustainability of their production systems and build resilience to climate change
Budget: 
€177,851
Résultats attendus: 
  • Stakeholders sensitisation, mobilisation and data collection across 141 Farming Communities spread across 16 States and six geopolitical zones of Nigeria with six (6) of the seven (7) agro-ecological zones, 270 Farmers’ Groups and 1,747 Rice and/or Maize Farmers already reached.
  • Eleven (11) in-depth training on climate change - causes, drivers, impacts and mitigation strategies including Climate-smart Practices (CSPs), and use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have been organised for 188 Agricultural Extension Officers used as Field Guides / Enumerators across the 16 States covered so far.
  • Preliminary evidences form the project have been presented at the Annual Meeting and Workshop of the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association (NAREA) held June 11 – 14, 2017 at Key Bridge Marriot Hotel, Arlington, Virginia near Washington DC, USA.
  • The project is also supporting the training of eight (8) postgraduate students, while facilitating Research and Development (R & D) collaboration between the University, a Research Institute (NCRI) and State ADPs across the federation.

 

Specific Impacts on Women, Children and Youth :

 

The project will provide evidence-based and actionable information to assist Nigerian Governments and the Development Partners in coming up with policies, reforms and development programming to eliminate barriers to adoption of CSPs, whose long term impacts on rice and maize farmers, rural farm households and Women, Children and Youths will include:

  • More efficient and sustainable use of production resources - leading to higher productivity, increase in income, poverty reduction and enhanced household food security;
  • Reduction of gender-imbalance in access, control and ownership of land and other productive resources with significant improvement in women empowerment;
  • Greater effectiveness in rural land governance with significant enhancement of security of LTPRs of smallholders, Women and members of local communities in Nigeria;
  • Greater resilience to climate change as well as reduction in deforestation, desertification and land degradation.

 

Beneficiaries of the projects :

 

Smallholder maize and rice farmers, Women, Farm Households in general, and the general populace.

Partenaire Techniques: 
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, NigeriaNational Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, NigeriaVarious States’ Agricultural Development Programme Offices (informally)
Durée: 
Vendredi, 21 octobre, 2016 - Vendredi, 20 octobre, 2017

Member Countries: