Capacity building of Internally Displaced Households on Climate-Smart Agriculture and sustainable Agricultural techniques.
Community Links & Human Empowerment Initiative (CLHEI) as part of her mandate envisions the possibilities of strengthening the local food production capacities of communities and food sufficiency for Vulnerable and displaced populations using Climate-Smart Agriculture techniques as a veritable strategy.
In Benue, the farmer-herder conflicts have displaced thousands of farmers from their natural habitats and have put them in Internally Displaced Persons Camps, giving rise to severe hunger and starvation among vulnerable and displaced populations. The situation continues to deteriorate in terms of livelihood household options, and the prevailing insecurities make it difficult for farmers to access their farmlands in order to cultivate crops. The flow-on effects include a substantial reduction in food security. As a result, innovations are required to address food insecurity and poverty. Climate Smart Agriculture plays significant role as exemplified by green rooftop farming, backyard gardens, community gardens and commercial farms.
CLHEI Climate Smart Agriculture strategy focuses on approaches that guide actions to transform agri-food systems towards green and climate resilient practices. This is aimed at enabling sustainable-increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; adapting and building resilience to climate change; and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, where possible. CLHEI trained 100 households on cultivation in Sack farming technique in NEPA Quarters IDP Camp and Kighir communities in Makurdi, Benue State.
The training exposed the IDP households to yam, potato and vegetables farming techniques and how to use low-cost local methods to chase away pests and other harmful organisms from plants to increase yields. With the application of the knowledge gained, IDPs and vulnerable populations can grow crops around the camp vicinity, roof tops or in their backyards. Sack farming is a type of vertical farming concept that can be applied for food sufficiency for IDPs and in other agrarian rural communities in Benue State.
