– Enhancing Climate-Smart Agriculture in Nigeria
– Utilizing Social Marketing for Sustainable Farming
– Bridging Communication Gaps in Agricultural Practices
In the wake of severe floods in 2024 that devastated Nigerian farmlands and displaced approximately 200,000 people, the Nigerian government has pledged to implement climate-smart, low-carbon farming practices nationwide through the $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project with Brazil. However, smallholder farmers, who produce up to 80% of Nigeria’s food supply, face challenges in adopting these practices due to ineffective communication strategies that fail to resonate at the grassroots level.
Experts advocate for the use of social marketing—a targeted communication approach that fosters behavioral change—to effectively convey sustainable farming techniques to rural farmers. While organizations like the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) employ social marketing tools to influence agricultural policies, their messages often do not reach the farmers who need them most. To ensure food security and environmental sustainability, it is crucial to deliver clear, localized messages that empower farmers to adopt climate-resilient practices.
