Groups boost women smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change

Global Community Engagement & Resilience Fund (GCERF), a Geneva based organisation working on preventing violent extremism and supporting community resilience in some countries of the world, including Nigeria, has supported Emergency & Risk Alert Initiative (ERAI) to strengthen resilience of women smallholder farmers to cope with climate change.

This support was incumbent on Emergency & Risk Alert Initiative (ERAI), winning the 2023 edition of the Carol Bellamy Leadership Award. The award was based on the past record of works and achievements of Emergency & Risk Alert Initiative (ERAI), particularly its strategic priority given to   gender justice and women’s right issues in its humanitarian and development works.

Emergency & Risk Alert Initiative (ERAI), a non-governmental Humanitarian and development organization registered in Nigeria. The organisation whose vision is a world where everyone takes informed and appropriate action to reduce vulnerability and prepare for emergencies is implementing this project in Supare, Ondo State in Nigeria.

The plight of smallholder women farmers is currishly despicable despite their contributions to reducing the risks of food insecurity, famine and starvation in the country.

They are vulnerable to vagaries of weather and severely impacted by climate change with least capacity to recover from impact of climate change.The project that targeted women small farm holders with objectives of strengthening their resilience by reducing their vulnerability and risks has recorded remarkable achievements based on the output reported during the project at Supare on April 16, 2024.

The review which was attended by the Executive Director of Emergency & Risk Alert Initiative (ERAI), Gbenro Olajuyigbe; the National Coordinator of GCERF, Yetunde Adegoke; the Community Coordinator of the project, Omogbadegun Jide; the ward coordinators and several beneficiaries affirmed remarkable achievements of the intervention.

These included the testimonies by the beneficiaries that 28 women smallholder farmers have been trained on climate change hazard, vulnerability, impact and risk reduction. This knowledge has also been stepped down to others in the community by the beneficiaries.

It is also heartwarming to have learned from the beneficiaries that Climate resilient  seeds which included; Bean, Melon and Maize have been distributed to twenty nine( 29) women Small holder farmers for planting.

The treated seeds with shorter gestation periods and higher yield potential than the traditional seeds have been planted and the farmers are tendering them while awaiting bountiful harvest.

According to the Executive Director of Emergency & Risk Alert Initiative (ERAI), Gbenro Olajuyigbe, the project was free and did not make any financial demand on the beneficiaries. The target is poor women small farm holders who are vulnerable and needed support in terms of capacity, seeds and pro-poor actions in order to reduce their vulnerability and enhance their resilience.