Climate Change: Cross River State to Partner With Propcom+

The Cross River State Government has resolved to partner with Propcom+, a new United Kingdom AID-Funded climate change programme in Nigeria.

Propcom+ is a programme aimed at supporting agroforestry initiatives to improve climate resilience and incomes of smallholder farmers through sustainable land use management models.

The programme was announced last August by the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, as part of the UK International Climate Finance programme for promoting climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture.

Governor Otu, who received the Propcom+ Country Representative, Dr. Adiya Ode and her team in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, southern Nigeria, hinted that the partnership would enable smallholder farmers to earn sustainable livelihoods.

According to the governor, the partnership with Propcom+ would also contribute to improving Cross River State’s biodiversity.

He said, “climate change is a serious issue that requires concerted efforts from us. We want to place Cross River State back on the world’s map as a tourist haven due to its vast tourism and eco-tourism potential, which would also protect our rich forest reserves.

“We are very keen on revitalising our forestry sector so that we can contribute to reducing the impact of climate change, open up our tourism potential as a state and also empower communities to improve their lives,” Governor Otu stressed.

Earlier, the Country Representative of Propcom+, Dr. Adiya Ode, said that one of the programme’s main objective is to support more than 4 million people in Nigeria, 50 percent of whom are expected to be women, )dopt and scale up sustainable agricultural practices for increase productivity.

Ode disclosed that the pilot phase of the programme was launched in three northern Nigerian states of Kano, Jigawa, and Kaduna, while plans were underway to include other ready states such as Cross River.

She urged the government to adopt the global policies on sustainable land use and deforestation-free commodities, noting that more Nigerian states would be encouraged to join the African Sustainable Commodities Initiative (ASCI).

She said, “Cross River State has long been recognised as one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots. We see a great opportunity to work with stakeholders in the state, particularly the Government of Cross River State and private sector organisations, to harness this huge potential in a way that would benefit smallholder farmers.

“We want to link forest protection to economic incentives for farmers. Thus, Propcom+ will initially focus on forestry initiatives that protect natural resources while improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers,” Ode harped.

She noted that in collaboration with the government, intensive reforestation and land restoration efforts should be promoted with climate-smart agricultural practices to generate new and alternative livelihoods for farmers.

Shakirat Sadiq