OCP Group, a global leader in phosphate production, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) have collaborated to provide support to Adamawa farmers displaced by conflicts to regain their means of livelihoods.
The support is a two-year pilot project which has since commenced in 2019, is being implemented in Muchalla, a community in Mubi North Local Government Area of Adamawa state.
“For the first time through OCP School Labs, farmers in rural and conflict-affected communities are able to test their own soil fertility, identify the right type of action, and maximize financial benefits from each harvest,” said Sukuss Koroma, technical coordinator, IRC’s ERD Nigeria.
“OCP is willing to fund a truly innovative and integrated approach to rural livelihoods in Nigeria,” Koroma said.
The project demonstrates promising results supporting vulnerable, but key, population segments in Nigeria, a statement states.
The support programme specifically targets young people between the ages of 18 and 40 years with a focus on women.
According to the organisations, a total of 450 women and 50 men have benefitted from the farmer-oriented training and empowerment programme.
The 500 farmers were given training through Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in seed germination testing, land preparation, ridging seed dressing, and agroecosystem analysis.
Each beneficiary was also given other items including improved maize seeds, rice seeds, and farming implements.
The beneficiaries were also grouped into village savings and loans associations (VSLAs) to help them increase their savings and have access to affordable loans.
Also, about 119 agro-dealers were trained in business strategy, living and operating costs, making and spending money and product marketing after which they were supported with working tools.
Eighty-three of the agro-dealers were linked with the 500 of the farmers to provide advisory services and share how farmers can access their products.
Caleb Usoh, country manager of OCP Africa in Nigeria, lauded the achievements of the pilot phase as a significant success and stated that lessons learned from the pilot will help to improve subsequent initiatives to support smallholder farmers.
Usoh also called on more corporate organizations to assist in supporting the survivors of violent attacks and conflict.
Esther Adams, a 36-year-old mother of four from the Muchalla community who participated in the FFS and VSLAs, said, “I learned many practices in the FFS… my farm neighbors were asking for the magic I used for my maize farm and I told them that I learned these practices from FFS. In the previous year, I harvested eight bags of rice. This year I harvested 23 bags.”
