From Esther Akaa
The Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation ( GIFSEP) has trained 50 farmers on climate smart agricultural practices.
GIFSEP’s training also hinged on using natural resources to boost agricultural production in Nasarawa State.
Lead Facilitator at the training held on Tuesday in Lafia, Gloria Agema, said the essence was to get farmers acquainted with modern ways of farming for increased agricultural productivity and income in a sustainable way, adapt and build resilience to climate change to reduce green house emission.
The 2- day training with the topic, ” Promoting Nature Based Solutions in Food Production” was organised as part of the implementation of the African Activists for Climate Justice ( AACJ) Project with support from Oxfam in Nigeria.
Agema who is also the Executive Director, Gee Foundation for Social Justice and Development, said farmers were facing challenges of climate change such as soil infertility, flooding , high temperature, dry spells , pest and diseases among others, and said they must adapt ways of coping with the challenges for better livelihoods.
“Farmers must adapt Climate Smart Agricultural practices such as Agroforestry which is the integration of trees and shrubs into crops and livestock systems to enhance biodiversity, improve soil health and provide additional income sources.
” Conservative agriculture practice such as minimal soil disturbance, maintaining soil cover and crop rotation would help improve soil health and water retention for better yields.
” Also, soil health management practices such as composting, cover cropping and reduced tillage enhance soil fertility and structure will help farmer to sustainably increase agricultural productivity, among other smart agricultural practices,” she said.
Agema, therefore called on the participants to adopt Climate Smart Agriculture and look at ways of improving their farm produce to be able to cope with the current realities of climate change.
She also called on the government and other relevant stakeholders to develop policies that would support Climate Smart Agriculture aimed at addressing issues of climate change that is affecting farmers and the people at large.
Also speaking, Programme Manager for GIFSEP, Mr Joseph Ibrahim said his organisation was implementing the AACJ project in Nasarawa State to promote nature-based solutions in food production as farmers were being impacted by the negative effects of climate change in their food production practices.
Ibrahim said the training brought together 50 farmers, especially women farmers to build their capacity on how to use natural resources to produce food, especially as there was food inflation in the country.
“It is important that we equip community people with skills and techniques to be able to produce food in their homes in order to curb poverty and ensure the sustainability of the livelihood of rural women and urban women as well,” he said.
The Project Manager also explained that AACJ project was focusing on influencing policy and improving the adaptive capacities of women to be able to respond to climate change issues.
He said the project had made significant progress, particularly through advocacy to government officials on the need to develop climate change policies in the state.
Also lending his voice, the National Coordinator of the AACJ Project in Nigeria, Kenneth Akpan of Oxfam also reiterated the need for participants to cascade the knowledge gotten from the workshop to their community members, he believes that the impact of climate change must be everybody’s responsibility as such they should all consider themselves as activists and ambassadors of the project through pushing for more adaptation by their friends, family and nearby communities to close the knowledge gap.
In an interview with some of the participants, Rejoice Asoloko and Asaba Averson, both promised to use the knowledge gained at the training to adapt and build resilience to the adverse effects of climate change in their environment.
GIFSEP, a non- governmental organisation is implementing the AACJ project which is a five-year project with support from Oxfam in Nigeria and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands(MOFA).