Propcom+, an 8-year United Kingdom-funded rural and agricultural market development program, targets increasing the incomes and climate resilience of around 4 million poor and rural Nigerians, (50% of whom will be women), by increasing productivity and food security, enhancing climate resilience by 2030.

Propcom+ is supported by an initial £95 million in funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) and an additional £122 million in private funding to improve the resilience of Nigerian smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs to climate change while increasing their productivity and maintaining natural ecosystems.
On Thursday, the program hosted a one-day learning event in Kano, Nigeria under the theme: “Learning and Adapting for Greater Impact” convening key stakeholders in Nigeria’s agricultural market who exchanged insights on the effectiveness of the business models introduced to them by Propcom+, discussed implementation challenges and how they overcame these challenges to implement the models efficiently and effectively.
While speaking at the event, Political Director and Country Representative of Propcom+, Dr Adiya Ode, emphasized the transformative potential of the program, noting that Propcom+ employs a market systems development approach, facilitating collaboration among agribusiness owners, policymakers, and agricultural market actors against intervening directly in the markets.
“We aim to improve agricultural productivity, build resilience among rural populations, and reduce emissions and resource-based conflicts. By 2030, we hope to positively impact four million Nigerians while also achieving our financial target of leveraging £122 million in private funding,” Dr Ode explained.
A “3Ps” Approach to Boosting Incomes, Climate Resilience
Propcom+ launched in 2023 intending to address Nigeria’s rural development challenges through innovative and sustainable interventions. Its strategy is built around fostering partnerships, scaling innovative models like community seed multiplication, and supporting last-mile delivery of veterinary vaccines.
The program seeks to achieve this through its “3Ps” approach of interlinked components which include (P1) scaling-up a focused basket of proven climate-smart interventions around agricultural and primary processing and storage practices and models to get these adopted by millions of poor and vulnerable smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs.
The second approach (P2) entails building markets by developing and piloting new business models that improve productivity, enhance resilience to climate change, reduce emissions, and improve nutrition outcomes while the third approach (P3) is about enabling policies that support a strengthened enabling environment for sustainable food and land-use system.
“We believe working with market actors to facilitate growth is more effective and sustainable than direct market intervention. This ensures that the positive changes we help initiate will last long after the program ends. Propcom+ also places significant focus on women and smallholder farmers, key groups that are particularly vulnerable to climate change and environmental hazards,” Ode assured.
Propcom+ Partners State Govts to Drive Agricultural Development
Dr. Danjuma Yankatsari, Kano State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, lauded the tangible achievements of Propcom+ noting that the program aligns with the state’s agricultural development plans and existing interventions by organizations like the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
“Propcom+ has made a substantial impact, particularly in the areas of crop production, crop protection, irrigation expansion, and the promotion of climate-resilient seeds. The program’s focus on empowering women and small-scale farmers is critical to addressing the vulnerabilities of these groups to climate change,” Dr Yankatsari said.
The Kano agric commissioner listed other accomplishments of the Propcom+ as the provision of modern farming equipment, creation of cattle routes, and expansion of fodder availability for livestock, which collectively contribute to rural livelihoods.
Scaling Models for Broader Impact
While sharing the organization’s efforts to scale up successful pilot projects such as the Maikarfi, Propcom+ Strategy Director Olamide Ojo noted that these models are being adapted across other regions of Nigeria, to maximize their reach and impact.
“In the past seven months, we have seen significant progress with partners scaling our community seed multiplication and rural seed promoter models. These efforts ensure the accessibility of quality seeds to farmers at the grassroots level,” Ojo said.
The Propcom+ learning event was attended by over 100 diverse agricultural market actors working with smallholder farmers and small-scale rural entrepreneurs to sustain their livelihoods by embracing innovative business models and climate-smart agricultural practices. The event delved into the challenges and opportunities in scaling these models and sought to facilitate broader adoption of the models.