…Experts to move to states, rural areas to begin measures
The international coalition on climate change mitigation for agriculture involving 59 countries has concluded the first phase of its action in Nigeria with plans to cascade the strategies down parts of Nigeria. The effort is driven by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
This was after the four-day training scheme termed IFAD/SUSTAIN International Programme national workshop (Cohort 1) which ended November 28, 2024 at the Villa Toscana, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The training workshop brought together about 28 participants drawn from IFAD projects around Nigeria (such as LIFE-ND, VCDP, SAPZ national projects, and PCU, NPCS, PMU, SPMUS, Environment and Climate Experts, CPAT).
Representatives of the federal government of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the Federal Ministry of Finance were in attendance with the learning objectives being to raise awareness within IFAD, the Project Management Units and their “ecosystems” (consultants, government staff) specialised institutions, and other service providers on the meaning of the SECAP and to strengthen their capacities for compliance to SECAP guidelines.
Major outcomes include resolution by participants to integrate the knowledge acquired into the respective projects ensuring compliance with social, environmental and climate standards.
It was resolved to form SECAP Community to establish a platform for continuous learning exchange of experiences, and peer support across IFAD programmes in Nigeria and around the world.
It was agreed that there is a need to scale down learning to grassroots and extend training outcomes to state level decision-makers and farmer organisations to ensure broader application and impact.
There is going to be monitoring and evaluation mechanism to develop a robust monitoring system to track the adoption and impact of the nine SECAP principles across project components.
On policy advocacy, it was resolved to strengthen the collaboration between federal and state governments to support policies that promote resilience sustainability, and inclusivity.
According to Abiodun Sani, the National Project Coordinator (NPC) of the Federal Government of Nigeria NDDC, IFAD-Assisted Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Project in the Niger Delta, the next steps have been outlined.
He said: “One of the critical steps is to scale this down to the grassroots because ultimately the beneficiaries are the target. They are the primary focus of LIFE-ND. So, we are expected to cascade what we have learnt to the grassroots and make it quite impactful in their lives, thus ensuring social environment and climate sustainability in all our projects and activities.
“We will as well also look at the issue of policy dialogue by engaging various community groups, interest groups, even the government so that SECAP will be seen in its entirety as an instrument for ensuring sustainability as far as entrepreneurship and rural development is concerned.”
The coordinators of the training said it followed a well-structured approach starting with a hybrid learning enabling a foundational understanding of SECAP principles before in-person sessions began.
The in-person sessions combined expert presentations with hands-on exercises for comprehensive learning. Participatory methods were deployed using group discussions and participants to share collaborative activities which allowed experiences and insights. Stakeholder engagement strategies were modelled to demonstrate practical application in projects.
There were case studies and examples from ongoing IFAD-supported projects in Nigeria which were used to illustrate the implementation of SECAP principles while discussions were tied to pressing issues like recent flooding and its impacts on agriculture and livelihoods.
The training was also geared toward empowering participants to take actionable steps in integrating SECAP principles into their programmes.
Participants said emphasis was placed on building long-term capabilities through pos workshop resources like the Community of Practice.
The workshop provided a platform for participants to interact with national and international experts, policymakers, and technical advisers fostering collaboration and shared learning.
The training enhanced awareness and capacity off participants which gained a deeper understanding of the integration of social environmental, and climate standards into agricultural projects. The training emphasized the importance of aligning project activities with SECAP guidelines to promote resilience and sustainability.
It also fostered collaboration among stakeholders, including IFAD, Federal and State Government and project staff, CPAT team, highlighting the collective responsibility for addressing climate and environmental challenges.
It underscored progress made in integrating vulnerable groups into agricultural programs, ensuring that climate resilience efforts also address social equity and inclusion.
The establishment of a SECAP community of practice has been prioritised to sustain learning, share best practices, and support ongoing implementation of social and environmental standards.
Major lessons from the national workshop in Port Harcourt were listed as the realisation that the recent climatic challenges and the floods in Nigeria which were said to have highlighted the need for a robust climate adaptation measure, therefore addressing climate change impacts which must remain central to agricultural and development initiatives.
It has been admitted that the importance of stakeholder engagement cannot be overemphasised as effective project outcomes depend on inclusive and active participation from all stakeholders, including farmer organisations and decision-makers at various levels.
There is also the need for tailored approaches to ensure that programmes must account for local realities and challenges, ensuring that interventions are practical, inclusive, and sustainable.
The role of capacity building, regular training and skill development have been seen as essential for embedding SECAP principles into programme activities and fostering long-term compliance
A participant, Innocent Moses Ogbin, the Cross River State Project Coordinator of LIFE-ND, said SECAP focuses on social, environment and climate assessment. “I think this should have even come to me before the project started. So, I’ve gained a lot about how we can mitigate the environment, how we can get the less privileged, the vulnerable ones in our communities to participate, to run an inclusive agricultural programme.”
A facilitator from South Africa, Jenean Pretorius of Clear-AA, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa’s centre for learning, evaluation, and results (in Anglophone Africa), explained that they were members of the implementing team that brought onboard by AVITA space in Switzerland.
She said they were supporting the ‘IFAD Sustain Grant’ and that they were there with positive assessment. “I’ve really been impressed by the commitment levels. The learnings are certainly quite valuable.
“So, it’s always a pleasure to see the kind of application between theory and practice. There was a lot of group work to ensure that they transferred the strategies to projects. The overall implementation, the overall support with the various partners, the logistics on ground, etc, have been a wonderful experience.”
Deborah Onyefulu, the Anambra State Programme Coordinator from the Anambra State VCDP, said the SECAP programme was very interactive and knowledgeable.
She confessed: “Before this time I never knew that the environmental officers could be everywhere but now with this programme, I know that before any project starts and when it’s on going and before it finishes the environmental officer is supposed to go round to find out how the environment is and how things can be done. I didn’t even know before now that there are things on procurement process concerning the SECAP; so, it’s knowledgeable.
“I’ve really gained a lot and I hope to go back to my state and step it down to the officers working under me.”
Overall, the participants expressed commendations to the federal government of Nigeria, the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the NPCS, CPAT, the SPCs as well as the environment and climate experts that drilled them, and the LIFE ND that hosted them.
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