- Nigeria's Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer held a workshop to build a framework for directing climate finance to rural farmers
- Experts said Nigeria had attracted about $2.5bn in climate funding so far, far below what smallholder farmers actually need
- YAPU Solutions proposed a pilot project worth up to $200m, with plans to eventually scale financing to $1bn in a first expansion phase
Abuja, FCT - Nigeria is working to create an operational framework that will allow smallholder farmers to access climate finance, as experts at a national workshop called for up to $30bn in annual investment to help farmers cope with the effects of climate change.
The Taxonomy Validation Workshop on Adaptation and Resilience Solutions, organised by the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT) in partnership with YAPU Solutions, brought together financial institutions, agricultural experts and other stakeholders to validate a national taxonomy defining which activities qualify for climate finance.
Source: UGC
PICTT Chairman Dr Dahiru Muhammed said the Federal Ministry of Finance and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) were already working on the national taxonomy, while PICTT and its partners were focused on making it functional at the community level.
"Having a national taxonomy is good, but without defining which activity qualifies as adaptive or resilient to climate change, there is no way you can access the financing," Muhammed said.
He noted that financing had not yet been assessed and that stakeholders were still identifying the partners needed to implement the framework. He also called on federal, state and local governments to work together on flooding and other climate challenges through better infrastructure and mitigation measures.
WorldFish Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Charles Nyangbe, pointed out that the country had attracted about $2.5bn in climate-related funding so far, well below estimated needs. He said northern Nigeria faced drought while southern communities dealt with flooding and waterlogging, meaning different regions required different financing tools and adaptation strategies.
Nyangbe pushed for index-based insurance and blended finance as instruments to help farmers manage climate risks. He also urged the government to channel climate funds through commercial banks, using public money as guarantees to encourage lending to farmers.
"Government should come up with an envelope of funding that is targeted at climate financing, give it to financial institutions, give it to commercial banks so that they can lend," he said.
He added that livestock, fisheries and aquaculture deserved more attention in climate finance discussions, warning that flooding could wipe out fish ponds and aquaculture facilities, causing major losses.
Pilot Project and Digital Accountability
Managing Director of YAPU Solutions, Christoph Junghleisch, said climate adaptation represented an investment opportunity of up to $30bn per year for smallholder farmers across the country.
He said initial plans could involve a pilot project valued at between $100m and $200m, with a target of scaling up to $1bn in the first expansion phase, though he stressed these were targets and not confirmed funding commitments.
Junghleisch identified digital technology as critical to keeping the system transparent, saying the framework would digitally track every naira reaching smallholder farmers and make transactions fully auditable.
"What we are focusing on is smart use of technology, optimisation of processes that enable you to document each and every cent, Naira, that you are basically bringing to the smallholder farmers," he said.
He added that YAPU was in talks with development finance partners including the Bank of Agriculture and the African Development Fund, while also seeking private-sector investment. Government support through sound policy and legislation, he said, would be essential, as public funding alone could not meet the required scale.
Source: Legit.ng