DELIVER Nigeria is now officially underway, with the objective of enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder vegetable farmers and promoting healthier dietary habits in Nigeria’s Kaduna and Kano states.
The full name of this three-year project is “DEcent LIVelihoods for small-scale producers delivered through Economic and Resilient food systems in Nigeria”, and it is being run by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT), and Wageningen University & Research (WUR).
The project will address key challenges facing smallholder farmers in Nigeria, which include low yields, limited market access, high post-harvest losses and inadequate access to finance.
These issues are exacerbated by climate change and low demand for vegetables in the region.
Limited vegetable consumption negatively impacts community health as well as the development of local vegetable markets.
Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of GAIN, said, “DELIVER Nigeria will empower farmers in Kaduna and Kano to grow more nutritious vegetables, improve their livelihoods, and feed their families and communities healthier diets.
“By making vegetables more accessible and affordable, we can create a ripple effect, improving the health and well-being of millions of Nigerians.”
Through the DELIVER Nigeria project, GAIN, EWS-KT, and WUR aim to address these challenges by empowering 50,000 households and positively impacting millions of consumers.
Among others, the project will train 25,000 smallholder farmers in advanced vegetable production and marketing techniques, including climate-resilient practices.
It will also provide training in business planning and finance options for an additional 25,000 farmers who have already been trained in vegetable production by EWS-KT.
It will improve access to finance for 500 farmers, enabling them to scale up their operations, as well as conduct community and market promotional activities to boost the consumption of a variety of vegetables, fostering healthier dietary habits.
The project will also build the capacity of 140 sector professionals from government, academia and the private sector on crop agronomy, including choice of crop and variety, fertilisation, trellising, and pest and disease identification and management.
The project’s focus on Kaduna and Kano states in northern Nigeria is strategic, as this is a region where vegetable farmers face significant challenges in both supply and demand. DELIVER Nigeria will advance the development of a more resilient and healthy food system by helping smallholders sustainably grow nutritious crops and educating people about eating them.
The DELIVER Nigeria project is part of the Accelerating Resilient Food Systems in Africa (ARFSA) programme, administered by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) on behalf of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Astrid Broekaart, Programme Coordinator for ARFSA, said, “The ARFSA programme helps organisations with proven experience to scale up and accelerate activities that contribute to resilient local food systems in Africa.
“The DELIVER Nigeria project will contribute to this goal by bringing together local experts in vegetable production and marketing from EWS-KT, specialists in nutrition from GAIN, and renowned knowledge institute WUR to make a positive and sustainable impact for 50,000 farming households”.
In the photo: Some smallholder farmers reaping the fruit of their labour.
