ACReSAL: Farmers’ Income Soars as Poverty Drops 41% in Bauchi – Agene

By Ajiya Ayuba, Bauchi

Poverty among beneficiaries of the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project has dropped by about 41 percent, following increased income and improved livelihoods among farmers, the project’s Task Team Lead, Joy Iganya Agene, has disclosed.

Agene made the disclosure in Bauchi at the opening ceremony of the ACReSAL Hybrid Additional Financing (AF) Pre-Appraisal Mission, held at the Bauchi State Ahmadu Bello International Conference Centre.

She said the poverty reduction figure could rise beyond 50 per cent with sustained interventions and improved support, stressing that the project had continued to produce tangible results for farmers and vulnerable communities.

The Task Team Lead described Bauchi as one of the best-performing states under the ACReSAL programme, commending the state government for its understanding of donor funding and commitment to providing the required support for effective implementation.

She, however, challenged the state government to improve further under the new funding window and consolidate the gains already recorded through the project.

Agene explained that the push for additional financing at the mid-term stage followed a performance review conducted in Lagos in May and June, which showed strong results across participating states.

According to her, the impressive performance provided the basis for seeking additional funding to expand and sustain interventions aimed at improving agricultural productivity, livelihoods and resilience in semi-arid communities.

Also speaking, the National Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, Abdulhameed Umar, commended Bauchi State for its outstanding performance in implementing the project.

Umar said ACReSAL’s positive performance had triggered moves to secure additional financing for interventions across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

“Bauchi happens to be one of our best-performing states as far as ACReSAL is concerned. We didn’t find it difficult to come to Bauchi because ACReSAL is actually being implemented and delivering results here,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the additional financing would enable ACReSAL to deepen its interventions, increase farmers’ earning capacity and further reduce poverty while strengthening climate resilience across beneficiary communities.