Series Introduction

This blog is the first of a six-part series which shares experiences, insights and opportunities from the UNDP Nigeria Accelerator Lab’s learning cycle on agriculture interventions for peace and development in Benue State. I will talk about the challenges farmers and other actors in this system face, deep dive into intriguing innovation ecosystems we meet, identify pathways for scaling up their activities, unusual data sources and partners that we found, and share findings from our research on the impact data can make in helping farmers who rely on rain-fed agriculture to adapt to increasingly irregular weather patterns.  

Background   

Benue State is commonly referred to as the food basket of Nigeria. It's famous for yams, rice, oranges, mangoes, and lots of other agricultural produce. However, many communities have faced chronic bouts of insecurity and conflict resulting in loss of lives, jobs, and displacement. The UNDP Nigeria Accelerator Lab has been asked to identify interventions in the agriculture value chain which will address economic drivers of insecurity and conflict and feed into a wider portfolio of interventions that are being deployed by the Benue State Government, the UN system and other partners in conflict prevention and peace building. 

Part 1 - Sensemaking in Makurdi 

In which we uncover opportunities and models for scaling up and commercialising value-added enterprise and knowledge products at the Center for Food Technology and Research, Benue State University, learn how population growth and greater competition for land are changing farmers’ land use patterns, and insecurity, conflict and irregular weather patterns are now compounding other systemic challenges famers face. 

Introduction

Our objective on this Mission is to speak with people impacted by the conflict, learn about the drivers of conflict and how communities cope in these circumstances. We’re starting in Makurdi, the capital city of Benue. 

Stakeholder Meetings, Makurdi

Our first meetings are with organised private sector and several Ministries including Agriculture, Lands, Commerce & Industries and Rural Development. At a roundtable and in several smaller meetings we learn how social and environmental issues are generating new challenges and compounding existing system gaps.   

How do people think these challenges can be addressed? - Many propose training on new agronomic practices, access to affordable machinery and equipment and the establishment of model ranches. The reference to model ranches is directed at addressing the recurring insecurity and conflict between farmers and herders. The view of agricultural extension services as a public good is implicit in these conversations. 

People talk about how commonly used farm and fallow systems are dying out due to population pressure; as more farmers use up all their land each planting season, potentially reducing productivity over time. Limited agriculture extension services, inadequate processing and storage facilities, poor access to markets and limited knowledge about changing weather patterns are other common challenges which are compounded by recurring insecurity.  You get the sense of a community in flux, trying to adapt to an evolving, more complex, operational landscape.