Building resilience of small holder farming communities to effects of climate change

Innovation methods

Data sources

SDG(s)

Sustainable Development Goal(s)

2Zero hunger

9Industry, innovation and infrastructure

13Climate action

Disclaimer:

Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.

Learnings on your challenge

What are the top key insights you generated about your learning challenge during this Action Learning Plan? (Please list a maximum of 5 key insights)

1.) Working with weather data and up-skilling in climate smart practices can improve small holder farmers yields by over 100%. 2.) Small holder farmers are greatly impacted by the effects of climate change, because their activities are greatly dependent on working with established weather patterns, for example most solely practice rain-fed agriculture and sun drying for preservation is very common. 3.) Some Farmers areas are more affected by dry weather shocks such as late onset rain, dry spells and prolonged drought, however flooding typically makes more headlines. 4.) Small holder farming is a popular occupation and a major contributor to GDP in Nigeria, averaging about 20% over the last 9 years.

Considering the outcomes of this learning challenge, which of the following best describe the handover process? (Please select all that apply)

Our work has been picked up by UNDP or the government and has now expanded geographically in our country, Our work has not yet scaled, Other

Can you provide more detail on your handover process?

We are working on the adoption of this experiment by 2 projects teams in our CO, and a collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture that incorporates the experiment model in 2024. We are also concluding with endline surveys, and will handover once these processes are complete.

Please paste any link(s) to blog(s) or publication(s) that articulate the learnings on your frontier challenge.

Data and Methods

Relating to your types of data, why did you chose these? What gaps in available data were these addressing?

We used these types of data because we wanted to be more certain that the methods we were introducing would be accepted by the small holder farmers, since they would be risking their livelihoods based on our advice. Some data types addressed gaps about upcoming weather patterns in the small holder farming communities. Others were vital for ensuring we had 2-way data flows between the farmers and other technical experts. The establishment of knowledge exchange platforms is crucial to the sustainability of this intervention.

Why was it necessary to apply the above innovation method on your frontier challenge? How did these help you to unpack the system?

These methods were necessary for identifying local assets, and resources that we could work with, to improve the sustainability of this experiment if it was successful. We also needed to understand the farmers' prioritisation of the systemic challenges that they were dealing with, so we could understand where our work would have greater impact. A collective intelligence approach was necessary, because there were many variables to address on this experiment and this was our best bet for designing a practical solution.

Partners

Please indicate what partners you have actually worked with for this learning challenge.

Please state the name of the partner:

Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET)

What sector does your partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the partnership.

NiMET provided weather data, crop weather calendars and conducted capacity building on climate-smart agriculture as a technical partner.

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Please indicate what partners you have actually worked with for this learning challenge.

Please state the name of the partner:

Benue State Ministry of Agriculture

What sector does your partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the partnership.

The Ministry provided technical expertise, lending experts in agronomy and providing logistics support for engagements in the communities.

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Please indicate what partners you have actually worked with for this learning challenge.

Please state the name of the partner:

Center for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER), Benue State University

What sector does your partner belong to?

Academia

Please provide a brief description of the partnership.

CEFTER provided technical support, lending expertise in hydrology and climatology and giving support on mapping engagements during the experiment.

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Yes

Please indicate what partners you have actually worked with for this learning challenge.

Please state the name of the partner:

Benue Agri-business Innovation Hub (BAI Hub)

What sector does your partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the partnership.

BAI Hub provided technical support, giving field support surveys and mapping exercises.

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Yes

End

Bonus question: How did the interplay of innovation methods, new forms of data and unusual partners enable you to learn & generate insights, that otherwise you would have not been able to achieve?

Please upload any further supporting evidence / documents / data you have produced on your frontier challenge that showcase your learnings.

https://undp-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/lantana_elhassan_undp_org/Ed4J71TrcuVBrq25RtZ5xqkB-dOLYSYXNognsIMTmUH8sQ?e=Xg2C7d

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Innovation methods

Data sources

SDG(s)

Sustainable Development Goal(s)

2Zero hunger

9Industry, innovation and infrastructure

13Climate action

Comments

Action plan