From: Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
A UK-funded initiative, Propcom+, has inaugurated a stakeholder accountability platform aimed at revitalising agricultural development across northern Nigeria.
Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the non-governmental organisation convened agricultural stakeholders from Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Gombe, Adamawa, and Katsina states in a strategic meeting held in Kano.
The discussions focused on dismantling key barriers to sustainable agriculture, enhancing productivity, building resilience to climate change, reducing emissions, and expanding access to nutritious diets.
Comrade Hamza Yunusa, Propcom+ Policy Facilitator for Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa, said the session—held at Bon Hotel, Kano—centred on agricultural budgeting, including allocation, disbursement, and implementation.
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“Propcom+ is an International Climate Finance (ICF) programme designed to support the transformation of Nigeria’s rural economy by addressing environmental, social, and economic challenges within the food and land-use system,” he explained.
The programme, he added, aims to improve the income and climate resilience of 3.79 million Nigerians by 2030.
This will be achieved through a three-pronged approach: scaling up proven climate-smart business models, piloting inclusive innovations, and facilitating policy and regulatory reforms to create an enabling environment for sustainable agribusiness.
Yunusa further noted that the platform seeks to empower farmers’ associations, civil society organisations (CSOs), women’s groups, the media, and persons with disabilities to engage constructively with government institutions on agricultural budget planning and monitoring.
“We envisage a system where civil society voices are strengthened, not to criticise for its own sake, but to constructively engage government policies and highlight areas requiring increased support,” he said.
Highlighting the chronic underfunding of agriculture in the region, Yunusa called on stakeholders to adopt evidence-based advocacy to drive investment.
He stressed that enhanced citizen engagement in budgeting processes is essential to ensure transparency, improve service delivery, and promote inclusive growth across the northern states.
