United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, will announce a £67.9 million new package to support and make Nigeria’s agriculture sector more climate resilient during his four-day African visit.
James Cleverly’s trip to Nigeria comes on a three-country visit to Africa where he is prioritising future-focussed, mutually-beneficial partnerships.
A breakdown of the funding support shows £10 million UK-backed facility in Nigeria, in partnership with finance company InfraCredit, announced Tuesday in Lagos will fund sustainable and climate-friendly infrastructure development projects – such as providing renewable energy services to homes in urban areas, as well as green housing.
Another £55 million Propcom+ contract, a UK International Climate Finance programme aims to support the transformation of Nigeria’s rural economy while another £2.89 million grant will be to support more than four million people across Nigeria to adopt and scale up sustainable agricultural practices.
This includes improving the health of animals, making crops more resilient, and introducing cleaner cooking practices. This in turn will help increase productivity, capacity, and resilience among small-scale farmers and rural communities across Nigeria while reducing carbon emissions and protecting natural ecosystems.
The £55m is the first contract signed as part of the £95 million Propcom+ programme announced at COP27.
More than two-thirds of Nigeria’s population depend on agriculture for employment and this new funding will help boost the Nigerian agricultural sector’s productivity and resilience to the impacts of climate change, transforming Nigerian critical agriculture and food systems for the benefit of people, climate and nature.
The UK support which comes on the second leg of the Foreign Secretary’s three-country visit to Africa, will help to develop heat and flood-tolerant crops and increase soil fertility. The new support will help grow the UK’s economy by alleviating some of the agricultural trade barriers to UK imports.
Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly said Nigeria has a booming population and the largest economy in Africa, with huge potential for an even closer partnership between UK and Nigerian businesses which will be of mutual benefit to both countries.
“Together we are focusing on the future by putting in place green, clean measures, both in agriculture and infrastructure development, to create climate-resilient solutions for the global challenges we all face today and will increasingly face in the years to come”, he said.
Cleverly who is on his first visit to Nigeria, will also visit a UN Humanitarian Air Service centre in Nigeria’s capital Abuja where he will hear how over £38 million of UK funding has helped vulnerable communities in the North-East of Nigeria.
Over four million people are facing food insecurity, and two million children under five are acutely malnourished in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States. This funding is helping to protect people, build their resilience to the ongoing food shortage crisis, and prevent famine.
The Foreign Secretary will also meet Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and National Security Advisor Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to discuss the UK-Nigeria partnership and key common priorities, including how to increase bilateral trade and investment, economic development, regional issues, and strengthened security cooperation.
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