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European Union`s PROSELL project has enhanced food security and resilience of over 42,000 households, and livelihoods of poor farmers in 80 rural communities in six Local Government Areas of Taraba.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that PROSELL is an EU funded project to support food security and resilience in six local government areas in Taraba.

The six years project co-implemented by Oxfam and Development Exchange Centre (DEC) commenced in July 2018 and climaxed in January 2024.

Temitayo Omole, Programme Manager, Human Development of EU Development to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said this at the PROSELL close-out Review meeting and Dissemination/ Knowledge Sharing workshop on Tuesday in Abuja.

Omole said the goal of the project is to build the resilience of 40,000 smallholder farmers, fishermen and livestock owners comprising women, youths and vulnerable households.

He identified its specific objectives as to increase the income of small-scale farmers by enhancing their agricultural productivity, market access and job creation along crop, fish and livestock value chain.

According to him, it is also to enhance adaptive capacities and resilience of small-scale farming households to climate change among others.

Omole said the choice of Taraba as the project target was informed based on poverty and inequalities analysis conducted by the EU.

“We have poverty and inequalities analyses in most countries and determine that there are some areas in the country where poverty, inequality vulnerability are very high and we recognised Taraba as part of that region,’’he said.

Omole  urged the state government to up its game by extending the project to other local government areas.

Tijani Hamza, Country Director, Oxfam in Nigeria said that Oxfam and DEC embarked on the journey with a commitment to reduce poverty, enhance food and nutrition security, address gender inequality and other numerous challenges in rural areas.

Hamza said the project has become a beacon of change, resilience, and empowerment in the rural communities of Taraba through the ambitions of Oxfam and other partners the project has been.

“Our dedicated efforts, led by our staff and partners, have resulted in impressive outcomes: A notable 83.2 per cent increase in livelihood assets within households.

“A significant 55 per cent of women are experiencing increased access to resources and control over assets, and the empowerment of 35 per cent of farmers, particularly women, contributing to improved livelihoods,”Hamza said.

He said the meeting serves multiple purposes of allowing partners to review the extent of the project implementation, evaluating achievements against the set targets and deliverables.

Hamza assured of Oxfam`s commitment to engage collaboratively with other stakeholders to develop a joint sustainability plan aimed at ensuring positive changes initiated by PROSELL.

Marina Dixhoorn, Oxfam Novib’s Country Relationship Manager said the meeting was to review project implementation.

‘Let us celebrate PROSELL’s achievements and plan for a resilient, empowered future,”she said.

Mrs Helen Abah, Executive Director, DEC said the journey various stakeholders embarked upon over the past 66 months has been nothing short of transformative.

She said DEC’s pivotal role in co-implementing the project, alongside Oxfam and funding from the European Union, has been instrumental in steering the course towards positive change.

Abah said the PROSELL project has been a beacon of positive change, contributing significantly to the lives of over 40,000 households whose livelihoods rely on agriculture and natural resource-based activities.

“Food security, a fundamental human right, has been at the heart of our project. We recognised the challenge of providing nutritious and sufficient food for all,“she said (NAN)

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-January 23, 2023 @ 17:29 GMT|

Tags: PROSELL Temitayo Omole