Oxfam Partners Bauchi to Develop Disaster Management Framework

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Apparently disturbed by incidences of flood and other disasters, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Oxfam, has organized a two-day workshop in collaboration with the Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency and State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA) to develop a disaster management framework for the state.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the workshop in Bauchi yesterday, the Country Director of Oxfam, Dr. Vincent Ahonsi, said Oxfam, which is been funded by Global Affairs Canada, has in an effort to reduce the impact of climate change, distributed and planted 30,000 tree seedlings in rural communities in Bauchi as part of its efforts to curb desert encroachment which is at 3km per annum; soil erosion, wind storms, as well as deforestation.

Represented by the Project Coordinator of Oxfam Line project in Bauchi, Mr. Samuel Lashom, the country director added that the project has provided rural households with 240 cooking stoves in order to discourage the indiscriminate cutting of trees in Tafawa communities as a pilot scheme to reduce the consumption of fire woods.

According to him, “Additionally, clean energy-efficient cooking stoves were distributed to households. Women who are significant firewood end-users were encouraged to go green by using less firewood to reduce prevailing deforestation and improve their health, livelihood, and overall well-being.”

He explained that the project has enjoyed the support of the state government through the relevant MDAs, adding that the commitment and tenacity of Oxfam implementing partners are worth mentioning.

The country director noted that the organisation has been working through the Livelihoods and Nutrition Empowerment Project (LINE) towards improving the livelihoods of over 30,000 rural households in Bauchi State.

According to Ahonsi, the project has provided agricultural inputs to over 14,000 smallholder farmers such as maize seeds, sorghum seeds, fertilizer and pesticides.

He added that the beneficiaries have also had their capacity enhanced in farming techniques and new farming technologies.

Ahonsi further explained that so far, the project has distributed over 58 trucks of fertilizers, 28,000 litres of Glyphosate, and more than 100,000 kilograms of improved maize and sorghum seeds.

He also stated that since the commencement of the Line project in Bauchi State, 96 heavy-duty processing machines have been distributed to beneficiaries for grinding and threshing.

The country director said to ensure that more women are directly involved in processing their farm commodities, the project has supported women and youths with another 120 smaller household-level grinding machines for shared group usage.

Oxfam said it recently introduced dry season farming intervention where farmers were availed the opportunity to cultivate twice a year with over 4,000 households benefiting in the state.