Livelihoods and Nutrition Empowerment Project is a 60-month initiative implemented by Oxfam in Bauchi State North East, Nigeria. The project seeks to promote agriculture-driven economic growth and improve living conditions for 10,000 farming households (directly benefiting approximately 80,000 people), with a special focus on women and youth, in six out of 20 local government areas (LGAs), over five years.

Through this project, Oxfam seeks to improve productivity by training farmers, with a special focus on female farmers (60%), on improved agricultural practices to help them overcome disparities in the distribution of household workloads, use of resources, and sharing of the benefits of production.

The project seeks to enhance access to markets through collaboration with key private sector actors as well as strengthen the capacity of key private sector players by improving their skills to engage in value chain interventions and support targeted farmers. It focuses on the following value chains: 

  • Maize
  • Sorghum
  • Sesame
  • Dairy
  • Meat (beef, mutton, goats, and poultry) 

Expected Outcomes

  • Improve the ability of women, men, and youth members of farmer households to increase and diversify production sustainably in selected commodity and livestock value chains
  • Increase the capacity of farmer cooperatives and other interest groups to advocate for an effective, equitable, and sustainable agricultural business enabling environment
  • Increase capacity of Project and partner staff to support and mentor women, men, and youth members of farmer households in equitable and sustainable business development in selected commodity and livestock value chains
  • Increase market competitiveness of women, men, and youth members of farmer households and other key players in selected commodity and livestock value chains
  • Improve home-based knowledge and skills of women from vulnerable farmer households in nutritious diets
  • Increase access to diverse and quality foods for vulnerable farmer households, especially women and children

Beneficiaries

The project proposes to reach out to some of the most disadvantaged households in the communities where they will intervene. Nutritional practices will be improved, specifically focusing on children, pregnant and nursing women, and mothers of young children through training in home-based skills in nutritional diversification and through promotional campaigns. With this assistance, these households will be able to engage in and benefit from the Project’s agricultural opportunities. By improving the low agricultural productivity and the difficult business environment, targeted communities can emerge from their existing state of stark underdevelopment.

As a market-based agricultural initiative, the project is expected to result in: strengthened commodity and livestock value chains for farmer households (60% women); an improved agricultural business enabling environment that is responsive to the needs of women, men, and youth members of farmer households; and improved nutrition for vulnerable farmer households, especially women and children.

The overall budget for this project is CAD $14 839 265.

For about 7 years, the LINE Project worked to stimulate increased agricultural production and sustainable economic growth in Bauchi State. The Project was a market-based agricultural initiative that promoted agricultural-driven economic growth and responded directly to the unmet financial services of the remote, difficult-to-reach, and rural poor communities in Bauchi State.

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Nutrition Empowerment livelihoods nutrition