PDA is currently implementing the Scaling up Public Investment in Agriculture (SUPIA) project with support from ActionAid Nigeria to promote and scale up public investment in Agriculture, both in political and budget commitments, to drive inclusive, lasting agricultural transformation at Local, State and National levels. The aim of the project is to catalyze increased quantity and improved quality of public investment in agriculture through enhanced citizens’ participation in policy making to increase the productivity and well-being of smallholder women farmers, their households and communities in Nigeria.
It is worthy of note that the SUPIA project was awarded to PDA due to following the successful implementation of the Public Financing of Agriculture (PFA) by PDA in Ebonyi State. For a period of 5 years (2015-2020- due to COVID-19, it extended to March 2021) while the project lasted, PDA made giant strides in influencing agricultural policies in Ebonyi State. Some of the notable achievements of the PFA project include:
- Steady increase in State agricultural budgetary allocation (2015-2020)
- Timely delivery of farm inputs by Government to smallholder women farmers
- Formation and strengthening of women corporative groups across the State.
- Formation and training of Ebonyi State Budget Analysis group. This group is responsible for analyzing the Ebonyi State Budget.
- Over 50 women accessed government grants to the tone of 3.5million naira.
The SUPIA project is a follow-up of the PFA project to consolidate the successes and to scale up work on advocacy on specific policy issues hampering agricultural development in the State. The SUPIA is a 5-year project which is reviewed every year to evaluate performance. Underperformance will lead to the termination of the project. However, PDA stands a great chance of working the project to the end, following the great achievement already made within the first year of the project. So far, the outstanding achievements made in the SUPIA project include:
- Inclusion of the following specific budget lines in the 2022 Ebonyi State agriculture budget, as advocated for by PDA and the PFA Budget Analysis group to the relevant authorities: – 1. Appropriate labour saving technologies; 2. Capacity building for women and youths; 3. Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA)
- PDA in collaboration with the Ebonyi State Agriculture Development Programme (EBADEP), has trained over 200 smallholder women farmers across the 3 senatorial zones on Nutrition.
- Revised Ebonyi State Agriculture policy and plan published. PDA’s work has helped to influence policies in Ebonyi State, especially, agriculture policies, including State annual agriculture budget.
- Ebonyi State Climate Change policy in place.
The relevance of Participatory Development Alternatives (PDA) increased in Ebonyi State especially in the agriculture sector. With the yearly, analysis of the State agriculture budgets since 2015 till date, and other PFA supported activities that PDA implements in the State, the Ebonyi State Ministry of Agriculture urged PDA to come with issues identified from the analysis of the yearly State agriculture budget, so that they can effect changes in subsequent budgets.
I am optimistic that PDA can achieve more with the SUPIA project, especially now that it has been extended.