Continuing his four-day African visit, the Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly will announce a new package of support to make Nigeria’s agriculture sector more climate resilient, as he arrives in the country on 1 August
More than two-thirds of Nigeria’s population depend on agriculture for employment. 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.
Support from the UK will help to develop heat and flood tolerant crops and increase soil fertility. New support will also help grow the UK’s economy by alleviating some of the agricultural trade barriers to UK imports.
On 1 August in Lagos, the foreign secretary in partnership with finance company InfraCredit will announce a US$12.7mn UK-backed facility in Nigeria, that will unlock funding for sustainable and climate-friendly infrastructure development projects, such as providing renewable energy services to homes in urban areas, as well as green housing. On 2 August in Abuja, he will announce a US$70.2mn Propcom+ contract, a UK International Climate Finance programme which aims to support the transformation of Nigeria’s rural economy, and a US$3.6mn grant, which will 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.
On his first visit to Nigeria, the Foreign Secretary will also visit a UN Humanitarian Air Service centre in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, where he will hear how more than US$48.5mn of UK funding has helped vulnerable communities in the North-East of Nigeria. He 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.
"Nigeria has a booming population and the largest economy in Africa – there is huge potential for an even closer partnership between UK and Nigerian businesses which will be of mutual benefit to both countries. Together we are focussing on the future, 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," said Cleverly.
