Mitigating impacts of climate change through CASP

JOHN OBA looks at the latest efforts by the CASP to reduce the effects of climate change on the nation’s agriculture, especially as they affect the smallholder farmers.
Climate change Climate change has been a thing of global concern for many years now due to the huge threat it poses to the world.
The problem of global warming, greenhouse gas effects, flooding, acid rain typhoons, rising sea levels, and rising sea temperatures resulting in depletion of marine organisms, earthquakes, wind storms, land and mud slides, desertification, tsunami, erosion, volcanic activities, hurricanes, pollution, deforestation among several others, have caused the world several losses.
Nigeria is no exception and one of the most affected is the agricultural sector, with the smallholder farmers in the rural communities across the county as the worst hit.
Flood, landslide, deforestation, and desert encroachment among others, have further exposed the country to the grievous effects of climate change.
Mitigation In an effort to address the impact of this phenomenon, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), working consistently with the Green Alternative Policy of the Federal Government, launched the Climate change Adaptation and Agribusiness Support Programme in the Savannah Belt of Nigeria CASP to promote Agriculture as a business and integrate climate change resilience adaptation measures.
The Programme is aimed at reducing rural poverty, increasing food security and accelerating economic growth on a sustainable basis.
It is built on the lessons learnt from the former Community Based Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP) that applied the Community Development Association (CDA) model as the primary entry for implementation.
The climate Smart Agriculture programme is designed to mitigate the impacts of climate change through the rehabilitation of degraded Community Range Lands, Livestock Drinking Points and Erosion Prone Market connected Farm Roads in seven participating States of the programme.
Impact Addressing participants at the launch of the project recently in Katsina, National Programme Coordinator, Alhaji Muhammad Lawal Idah, said the project is aimed at reducing rural poverty, increasing food security and accelerating economic growth on sustainable basis.
According to him, it builds on the lessons learnt from the former CBARDP that applied the CDA model as the primary entry for implementation.
CASP is supporting the production of seven value crops.
Idah said the programme is being implemented at the community levels with facilitation of three tiers of government, federal, state and local governments.
The Community Driven Development (CDD) implementation model, he noted, produces the fourth tier, that is, the CDA.
“The activity we are witnessing today marks another milestone on the commitment and efforts of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, on Climate Smart Agriculture to mitigate the impacts of climate change through the rehabilitation of degraded community range lands, livestock drinking points and erosion prone market connected farm roads in the seven participating states of the programme.
“The rehabilitation of the erosion prone roads will accelerate economic growth on a sustainable basis, improve agricultural production, facilitate easy access to farms and transportation of farm inputs and produce to the markets, and reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth in the participating states.
The two other interventions will impact on the livestock sector of the economy, specifically curtailing farmers/herders clash.
“Without doubt, when these roads and the grazing lands are fully rehabilitated they would be of immeasurable value to the benefitting communities in the participating areas,” he said.
Implementation Explaining further, he said the programme consists of four components such as productivity Enhancement and Climate Change Resilience; Enterprise Development for Youth and Women; Institutional Development; and Management and Coordination.
“CASP is being implemented in the seven northern states of Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara and operates in 104 Local Government Areas (LGAs) targeting 727, 000 beneficiaries in 727 Village Areas (VAs).
“The Local Government and village areas distribution is as follow: Borno State; 14 LGAs and 97 Village Areas, Jigawa State; 14 LGAs and 97 Village Areas; Katsina State; 17 LGAs and 121 Village Area; Kebbi State; 14 LGAs and 97 Village Areas; Sokoto State; 17 LGAs and 121 Village Areas; Yobe State; 14 LGAs and 97 Village Areas and Zamfara State; 14 LGAs and 97 Village Areas,” he said.
He stated further that CASP is supporting the production of seven value crops across the participating states.
According to him, Borno state is being supported on maize, rice and sorghum while Jigawa is on maize rice and wheat; Katsina is cowpea maize and sorghum; Kebbi on rice, cowpea and maize, Sokoto is on millet, rice and wheat; Yobe is being supported on groundnut, rice and sorghum and Zamfara, is getting support on cowpea, rice and sorghum.
Beneficiaries In his remark, the minister, Chief Ogbeh, said under the CASP programme, a total of 375km of earthen roads would be rehabilitated while a total of 243km of new rural roads would be constructed, adding that the project will benefit at least 7,000,000 people across the participating states.
“The Ministry, through the CASP programme, is intervening in the provision of 997 solar powered boreholes which would be benefitting at least 500,000 vulnerable men and women.
Additionally, water harvesting and soil & water conservation infrastructure would be provided to improve water harvesting on farmlands of beneficiaries.
“Also, a total of 4,000ha of rangelands would be developed to cater for at least 3000 herdsmen.
This would commence with a pilot of 50ha per state.
Here in Katsina state, Madobi and Turumni Village Areas in Daura LGA have been designated for the purpose with approximately 600ha on which holistic land management would be practiced and taught.
“Livestock watering points would be established in addition to the rangelands which obviously would reduce the friction between farmers and herders occasioned by the loss of forage due to the unsympathetic effect of the change in climatic conditions.
“To mitigate the effect of climate change on the environment, we are also establishing about 3,000ha of community woodlots, shelterbelts and the afforestation of the fast depleting vegetations in states within the CASP Programme area which would benefit at least 30,000 vulnerable men and women.
The programme is collaborating with the National Agency for the Great Green Wall in 18 communities common to both Agencies for that purpose,” the minister further explained.

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