In the sprawling fields of Nigeria, where the earth has long whispered promises of sustenance to millions, the rhythm of seasons has turned chaotic. For farmers like Hauwa Abdullahi in Kwalkwalawa, Sokoto State, and Ibrahim Musa in Mokwa, Niger State, agriculture is not just a livelihood but a legacy, etched into the soil through generations of toil. Yet, in 2025, this legacy faces an existential threat: climate change. Relentless floods have submerged homes and fields in the central regions, while scorching droughts have parched the northern Sahel, slashing crop yields by up to 30% and pushing 33 million Nigerians toward acute hunger. With food inflation soaring at 40%, the economic ripple effects are profound, threatening the stability of a nation where agriculture employs 70% of the workforce and accounts for 25% of GDP.
But in this crucible of crisis lies a transformative opportunity. Changing how Nigeria farms can change everything—mitigating climate impacts, bolstering public health, restoring ecosystems, and revitalizing the economy. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is not a mere adaptation strategy; it’s a revolution that integrates increased productivity, enhanced resilience, and reduced emissions. From flood-resistant crops in Mokwa to agroforestry breakthroughs in Sokoto, Nigerian farmers, backed by bold government initiatives, are rewriting the narrative of survival into one of prosperity.
The Climate Crisis: A Threat to Nigeria’s Agricultural Heart
Nigeria’s agricultural landscape is a tale of extremes, shaped by a warming planet. In Mokwa, a bustling farming hub along the Niger River, the 2025 rainy season unleashed a deluge of unprecedented ferocity. Beginning in late May, weeks of torrential rains, amplified by climate-driven weather shifts, swelled the river beyond its banks. Flash floods tore through communities, submerging over 10,000 hectares of rice, yam, and cassava fields—staples that feed millions and fuel Nigeria’s food markets. More than 4,000 homes were reduced to rubble, displacing 6,400 people in a matter of hours. The Eppa bridge, a critical artery linking rural villages to markets, collapsed under the torrent, isolating communities and stalling aid efforts. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported 153 bodies recovered from the wreckage of Mokwa’s main bridge alone, with hundreds more unaccounted for, swept away by currents or buried in mud.
.jpeg)
Aminatu Sani, a 38-year-old trader and mother of three, stands amid the ruins of her mud-brick home, clutching a sodden photograph of her family. “The water came like a beast in the night,” she recounts, her voice trembling with grief. “It took our roof, our savings, my son’s schoolbooks—everything. Now we live in a camp, but the mosquitoes and dirty water are as deadly as the floods.” In Mokwa’s overcrowded displacement camps, cholera and malaria cases are surging, fueled by contaminated water and scarce medical supplies. Malnutrition stalks children under five, with local clinics overwhelmed and aid agencies struggling to deliver. The floods’ economic toll is staggering: billions of naira in losses, with 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states at high flood risk, threatening 15 million people. Decades of poor urban planning, clogged drainage systems, and rampant deforestation—3.7% of forests lost annually—have turned seasonal rains into catastrophic torrents, stripping soil of its ability to absorb water and amplifying the devastation.
.jpeg)
Meanwhile, 400 kilometers north in Kwalkwalawa, Sokoto State, a different crisis unfolds. The 2025 rainy season, expected to revive the Sahel’s farmlands, delivered a mere 30% of normal rainfall. Rivers have dwindled, wells run dry, and Lake Chad, once a lifeline for millions, has shrunk further, its receding shores exposing cracked mudflats where fishers once thrived. Temperatures soaring past 40°C bake the soil, scorching maize, sorghum, and millet—crops vital to northern diets. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture estimates a 30% drop in yields across the region, pushing 33 million Nigerians toward acute food insecurity by December 2025. In Sokoto and neighboring Borno, desertification creeps southward, fueled by global warming and overgrazing, while dust storms whipped up by the Harmattan winds choke young plants.
Hauwa Abdullahi, a 55-year-old farmer and cooperative leader in Kwalkwalawa, surveys her withered onion fields, her hands tracing brittle stalks that tell a story of broken promises. “The rains used to come like a blessing,” she says, her eyes scanning the horizon. “Now, they tease us, and the sun wins. My grandchildren go to bed hungry, and we sell our goats to buy grain we can’t afford.” Food inflation, at 40% nationwide, forces families to skip meals or borrow at crippling rates. Herders, desperate for grazing land, clash with farmers like Hauwa, sparking violence that has claimed dozens of lives this season. In Borno, where conflict with Boko Haram has displaced millions, shrinking water sources intensify competition, driving migration to urban slums in cities like Kano, where unemployment and stigma await.
These crises are interconnected, driven by a climate warming 0.8°C since 1960. Nigeria faces “weather whiplash”—wetter floods and harsher droughts—that traps farmers in a cycle of loss. Deforestation exacerbates both, reducing soil’s resilience and disrupting local rainfall. Women, who form 60% of the agricultural workforce, and youth bear the brunt: children drop out of school to scavenge, and families face malnutrition as harvests fail. A 2025 poll reveals 68% of Nigerians support green solutions like solar irrigation, but only 28% fully understand climate change, highlighting an awareness gap that stalls progress. The stakes are clear: without transformation, Nigeria’s agricultural sector risks collapse, threatening food security, health, ecosystems, and economic stability.
The Power of Climate-Smart Agriculture: A Quadruple Win
Climate-smart agriculture offers a revolutionary path forward, integrating three pillars: increased productivity, enhanced resilience, and reduced emissions. Its benefits cascade across four critical domains—climate, health, nature, and the economy—making it a cornerstone for Nigeria’s future.
Climate Mitigation and Resilience: CSA practices like drought-tolerant crops and efficient irrigation cut water use by up to 50%, mitigating the impact of floods and droughts. Agroforestry, planting trees alongside crops, sequesters carbon, reducing agriculture’s 23% contribution to Nigeria’s greenhouse gas emissions. In flood-prone Mokwa, resilient rice varieties withstand waterlogging, while in Sokoto, rainwater harvesting ensures crops survive dry spells. These adaptations not only stabilize yields but also align with Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to cut emissions 32% by 2035.
Health Improvements: Diversified farming—growing nutrient-rich crops like moringa alongside staples—combats malnutrition, which affects 40% of children in northern Nigeria. Organic methods, reducing pesticide use, lower health risks like respiratory issues among farmers. In Sokoto, Hauwa’s cooperative sells moringa leaves for teas that boost immunity, improving community health. Cleaner water from solar-powered boreholes also curbs waterborne diseases, critical in flood-affected areas like Mokwa where cholera looms.
Nature Restoration: CSA regenerates ecosystems degraded by monocropping and deforestation. Agroforestry restores soil fertility, prevents erosion, and hosts pollinators, boosting biodiversity. In Sokoto, acacia trees planted by women’s cooperatives curb desertification, creating microclimates that support wildlife. In Mokwa, intercropping with legumes enriches soil, reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers that pollute rivers. These practices revive wetlands and forests, aligning with SDG 15 (Life on Land).
Economic Growth: Higher yields from CSA—20-50% increases in some regions—stabilize food prices, easing inflation’s grip. Diversified incomes from tree products (e.g., shea butter, timber) empower smallholders, 80% of Nigeria’s farmers. The World Bank projects CSA could add $1.9 trillion to Nigeria’s economy by 2060 under the Energy Transition Plan, creating jobs and reducing poverty. In 2021/22, $2.5 billion in climate finance—half for agriculture—generated 30,000 jobs, showing CSA’s economic promise.
As Dr. Amina Khalid, a climate expert at the University of Abuja, puts it: “CSA isn’t just farming—it’s a lifeline. It turns vulnerability into opportunity, ensuring farmers thrive despite climate chaos.”
Government Initiatives: Sowing Resilience, Reaping Prosperity
Nigeria’s government, recognizing agriculture’s pivotal role, has launched transformative initiatives to mainstream CSA, empowering farmers to manage climate change. These programs, blending policy innovation with on-ground action, are turning ambition into reality.
Climate Smart Agriculture Framework for Nigeria (2025): Unveiled in April 2025 by the National Agricultural Budget and Growth (NABG) initiative, this framework is a game-changer. It promotes resilient seeds, digital weather forecasting, and agroforestry to secure food systems and cut emissions. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) rolled out advanced weather apps, delivering real-time alerts to 500,000 northern herders and farmers, helping them evade drought losses in 2025. Training programs have reached 20,000 farmers, teaching techniques like crop rotation and organic composting that boost yields while preserving soil health. In Sokoto, farmers using NiMet’s forecasts planted earlier, saving 15% of their crops from late rains.
Value Chain Programme in Northern Nigeria (VCN): Launched in May 2025, this flagship initiative, co-financed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), IFAD, and the French Development Agency, targets rice, maize, and groundnut value chains. Reaching 1 million smallholders, VCN provides technical assistance, distributing drought-tolerant seeds and solar-powered drip irrigation systems. In Sokoto, 10,000 farmers trained in water-efficient techniques saw yields rise 30%, even in dry conditions. In Kwara, VCN’s flood-resistant rice varieties helped farmers recover post-2025 floods. The program has created 30,000 jobs, with women and youth leading value-added processing like rice milling, boosting local economies.
National Agricultural Resilience Framework (NARF): Integrated with the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action on Climate Change (NASPA-CCN), NARF channels $1.25 billion of 2021/22 climate finance into agriculture. It funds agroforestry pilots, like those in Borno, where 5,000 women planted acacia trees, curbing desertification and earning income from shea butter. NARF also supports digital tools: satellite-based soil monitoring helped 50,000 farmers optimize planting in 2025, reducing losses by 20%. Its youth-focused arm trains 77,000 young farmers in green skills, like solar panel maintenance, aligning with the 2025-2030 Youth Manifesto in Agriculture.
System of Rice Intensification (SRI): Championed at the Africa Food Systems Summit 2025 in Dakar, SRI has revolutionized Nigerian rice farming. By spacing plants wider, using organic compost, and optimizing water, SRI boosts yields by up to 100% while cutting methane emissions. In Mokwa, Ibrahim adopted SRI post-floods, harvesting enough rice to repay debts and hire two apprentices. In Sokoto, Hauwa’s cooperative used SRI to double yields on small plots, even with scarce water. SRI-2030, the award’s sponsor, notes that 30,000 jobs have been created through SRI, with women leading adoption in 12 states.
Kampala Declaration (October 2025): This continental commitment, adopted at the 2025 Africa Adaptation Summit, pledges to reduce post-harvest losses by 30% through tech-enabled storage and sustainable intensification. Nigeria’s implementation includes solar-powered cold storage units in 10 states, preserving harvests and stabilizing prices. Backed by $25 billion from the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program, the declaration mobilizes private investment—£204 million via Propcom+—for CSA scaling, benefiting 100,000 farmers.
These initiatives are not just policies—they’re lifelines. In Borno, NARF’s agroforestry restored 1,000 hectares, improving soil fertility and reducing conflict over land. In Kwara, VCN’s irrigation systems saved 5,000 farmers from flood losses. As Minister Abubakar Kyari declared, “CSA is Nigeria’s path to food security and climate justice.”
Farmers Leading the Charge: Stories of Resilience
The heart of this revolution beats in Nigeria’s fields, where farmers are the true architects of change. In Mokwa, Ibrahim Musa’s adoption of SRI and flood-resistant FARO 66 rice, distributed by ICRISAT, transformed his flooded paddy into a productive plot. “Last year, I lost everything,” he says, standing amid green shoots. “Now, my rice grows despite the river’s anger, and I’m teaching my neighbors.” His success has ripple effects: higher yields stabilize local markets, and his hiring of youth apprentices creates jobs. Ibrahim’s community also uses raised seedbeds and water-harvesting channels, blending traditional knowledge with modern techniques to outsmart floods.
In Sokoto, Hauwa Abdullahi’s women’s cooperative is a beacon of innovation. Supported by VCN, they’ve planted 2,000 acacia and moringa trees, curbing desertification and producing shea butter and nutrient-rich teas that boost health and income. “These trees are our shield,” Hauwa says, pointing to a thriving grove. “They save our soil and feed our families.” The cooperative’s SRI fields, irrigated by solar boreholes, yield enough rice to sell surplus, empowering women to send children to school. Aisha Umar, a 40-year-old member, adds, “Farming used to break us. Now, it builds us.”
These stories ripple beyond fields. Health improves as moringa combats malnutrition, reducing hospital visits. Nature thrives—acacia groves host birds and bees, boosting pollination. Economically, diversified incomes stabilize rural markets, with shea exports earning $500,000 in Sokoto alone. Youth, trained in green skills, find purpose, reducing urban migration. As a 2025 poll shows, 68% of Nigerians back such innovations, but awareness gaps persist, making stories like these vital.
Challenges and the Path Forward
Despite progress, hurdles remain. Nigeria’s $2.5 billion in 2021/22 climate finance is a fraction of the $17.7 billion needed annually for NDC targets. Smallholders, 80% of farmers, lack access to credit for CSA tools, and women face land tenure barriers. Awareness gaps—only 28% fully grasp climate change—slow adoption. Infrastructure deficits, like poor drainage in Mokwa, amplify losses. Scaling CSA requires tripling finance, enforcing anti-deforestation laws, and expanding digital access to reach 10 million farmers by 2030.
Yet, the momentum is undeniable. Government initiatives, paired with farmer ingenuity, are rewriting Nigeria’s story. The Kampala Declaration’s $25 billion pledge, combined with private investments like Propcom+, signals a turning point. As Dr. Khalid urges, “We must empower farmers as climate leaders, not victims. Their solutions are Nigeria’s future.”
A Call to Sow the Future
Changing how Nigeria farms is changing everything. CSA, powered by initiatives like VCN, NARF, and SRI, is a quadruple win: mitigating climate impacts, improving health, restoring nature, and driving economic growth. From Mokwa’s flood-resistant paddies to Sokoto’s agroforestry groves, farmers like Ibrahim and Hauwa are proving resilience is possible. But this revolution demands more—$17.7 billion in annual funding, inclusive policies for women and youth, and a national commitment to sustainability. Nigeria’s fields are not just battlegrounds; they’re laboratories of hope, where every seed planted defies climate chaos. For 220 million Nigerians, transforming agriculture is not just a strategy—it’s a legacy. Let’s nurture the harvest.
