By Ify Onyekwere
As climate change intensifies across sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria’s smallholder farmers who produce up to 70% of the nation’s food remain among the most vulnerable, facing erratic rainfall, declining yields, insecurity, and limited access to government support. To address these growing challenges, the Climate Accelerator Program, with the focus “Strengthening Climate Adaptation through Participatory Budgeting at the Local Level,” convened community stakeholders, government officials, farmers and the media in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT on Thursday, the 11th of December 2025.
The initiative is being implemented by DEAN Initiative in partnership with Gwagwalada Area Council, and funded by People Powered, a global organisation promoting inclusive democracy.
Beyond dignitaries, the event recorded strong participation from farmers drawn from communities such as Paiko and Ndupa, who shared firsthand experiences of climate-related losses and governance gaps.
A New Model for Citizen–Government Collaboration
Speaking at the event, the Council Secretary of Gwagwalada Area Council, Alhaji Muhammed Saba, praised the initiative for setting what he described as “a pace others will follow.” He said the council’s commitment to open government principles was strengthened through mutual understanding between him and the Chairman.
According to him, “OGP, Open Government Partnership, is a new concept; another way of helping governance achieve success with citizens’ satisfaction and participation.”
He explained that the council now intends to carry participatory budgeting outcomes into its development agenda so citizens feel respected and are willing to protect council projects.
However, he cautioned that while farmers submitted five climate-related budget priorities, the council could not yet guarantee that all would be accommodated. He also stressed that local governments increasingly rely on external support. “For every government, you need an outsider to help you achieve what you have. No matter the resources available, it will not be enough,” he said, adding that the Open Government Partnership model could attract external funders to boost local projects.
Integrating Climate Action Into Grassroots Budgeting
Founder of DEAN Initiative, Mr. Semiye Michael, said the organisation designed the project to connect climate action with local budget systems, ensuring farmers’ experiences directly shape public spending.
He noted that farmers not only feed themselves but also the nation, and any shock to their livelihoods affects entire communities.
In his words, “Let the citizens, these farmers, tell how climate change is affecting them. And let government work with them to appropriate financial resources within the framework of the budget.”
Michael added that democracy remains incomplete if citizens only vote during elections. He argued that citizens should also “vote for projects that directly affect them,” describing the participatory budgeting process as a “landmark achievement.”
Farmers Demand Support, Security, and Timely Inputs
Representing the farmers, Mrs. Rakiya Mamman highlighted multiple challenges faced by women in agriculture, including climate uncertainties, late arrival of inputs, and growing insecurity.
She explained that DEAN Initiative’s sessions helped farmers understand how to respond to climate-related disruptions.
According to her, “Our problem in agriculture is that we need support from the federal government… inputs and fertilizer don’t come on time.”
She also raised concerns about clashes with herders in communities such as Paco, saying these conflicts intensify during harvest seasons and pose risks to farmers’ safety and crops.
Citizens’ Priorities to Be Submitted for 2026 Budget
Project Lead, Mr. Taiwo Ojo, said the program was developed to help farmers identify climate priorities, gain skills in climate-smart agriculture, and understand how government budgeting works.
He explained that traditional budgeting systems often exclude citizens, leading to poor alignment between government plans and community realities.
Ojo outlined the project stages: inception meetings, community forums, capacity-building for farmers, and collaborative redesign of farmers’ priorities into a formal project proposal. The final proposal was presented at the area council during the event.
He noted, “The whole aim is to see that some of them are captured into the 2026 budget, which will reflect that people truly have power—power to make decisions that affect their livelihood.”
He added that citizen engagement in budgeting builds trust and ownership, improving implementation outcomes.
The event concluded with a symbolic signing of the participatory climate budgeting implementation document, a milestone that officially binds both citizens and government to the agreed priorities. The document was signed by Alhaji Muhammed Saba, representing the Gwagwalada Area Council; Mrs. Rakiya Mamman, representing the farmers; and Mr. Semiye Michael, Founder of DEAN Initiative. The act signified mutual commitment to embedding climate adaptation measures into local governance, ensuring that the voices of farmers shape the policies that affect their resilience.
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