Climate Change: Why Nigerian Farmers Need Smart-Agricultural Training, Says Expert

• There is a global concern over the continued occurrence of climate change worldwide
• Last year, Nigerian experience one of its worst hit of flood crises in over a decade, which led to the destruction of farmlands, farm produce, houses and properties
• In a bid to curb these shortcomings, Agro Preciso LTD and the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) Centre for Climate Change have signed a pact to combat these issues

FCT, Abuja - Farmers in Nigeria are on course to get cognitive and vocational training on the tenets of climate change and how to make contingency arrangements to control climate change.

This development was made known on Tuesday, February 7, during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Nigeria's leading agro company, Agro Preciso Limited and the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) Centre for Climate Change in Abuja.

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The pact between the institutions is expected to foster the marsh-up between the citadel of learning and the industry with efforts to build the capacity of young graduates, entrepreneurs and farmers.

Speaking at the signing of the MoU, the President of AUST, Professor Azikwe Peter Onwualu, said one of the significant essences of the pact is to proffer solutions to climate change in the country.

While referring to the tragic flooding disaster that ravaged most of the country in 2022, Prof Onwualu said there is a need to identify these shortcomings and combat them as well as sensitise farmers with adequate training that will enable them carryout proactive measures.

He said:

"What do we do as a global community, what do we do as Nigerians to either adapt to it or mitigate? How do we make sure that the impact is reduced, or we can manage the impact?

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"And of course, one of the whole things about climate change is what action do we take as humanity to gradually reverse what is going on. And part of the reason why we have climate change is because of human activities.

"So we also need to look at how we do things that will either decrease the actual effect of climate change or the occurrence of climate change or even eliminate it completely."

Antecedent of pact between both parties

Shortly after the signing of the MoU, the managing director of Agro Preciso Ltd, Nurudeen Samuel Lawal, told Legit.ng that the negative impact of climate change on Nigeria was partly one of the motivations that spurred the partnership with the AUST Centre for Climate Change.

He said:

"We have some of our friends and colleagues with farms in Taraba. And you know the last flooding was a disaster in Taraba too.

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"So those are really one if the things that brought about this partnership."

FG, state govt, donors to fund large scaled farmers training

When asked how the initiatives stipulated in the MoU will be funded, Lawal told Legit.ng that the training for farmers and other related activities will primarily be under corporate social responsibility (CSR).

He stated that most of the training programs for farmers would be on a small scale. On the advent of a big-scale training, funding bodies will be approached for subventions, including international donors and the government.

Lawal said:

"When you're dealing with large number of farmers, then you need to contact funding partners, the federal government, the state government. It depends on the area and number of farmers we have actually mapped out for the training.

"So those are basically the areas we will be raising money for to fund the training and to cater for some of the logistics and the rest."

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Good News As Nigeria, Ukraine Set To Enter Agricultural Pact

Meanwhile, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has continued its commitment to agricultural reforms in Nigeria.

Recently, the Ukrainian government hinted that it will be considering the proposal submitted by Nigeria to build a logistics hub for the storage of grains.

The partnership is expected to further boost and solidify the relationship between both countries.

Food Crisis to End Soon as CBN Disburses N1 Trillion to Over 4 Million Farmers Across Nigeria

In another development, the CBN has disbursed over a trillion naira to farmers under its intervention programme.

The Anchor Borrowers Programme aims to end the food crisis soon as the CBN has disbursed the monies to 4.6 million farmers across Nigeria.

Recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) suggests food inflation rose to 23.75% in December 2022.

Source: Legit.ng