Managing Climate-Smart Agricultural Programmes in the Sahel Zone of Yobe State, North East Nigeria: Policy and Practice

This study examines the management of climate-smart agriculture programmes in the Sahel zone of Yobe State, North East Nigeria, with a focus on policy coherence, programme implementation, and adaptation outcomes for smallholder farmers. Yobe State is among the most climate-vulnerable states in Nigeria, experiencing desertification, erratic rainfall, and accelerating land degradation that threaten agricultural livelihoods. Drawing on climate-smart agriculture theory and recent Sahel adaptation literature from 2020 to 2024, the study employs a practitioner research design. Data are gathered from Yobe State Agricultural Development Programme staff, climate-smart agriculture project managers from international agencies including the International Fund for Agricultural Development, smallholder farmer groups, and Yobe State Ministry of Environment officials through professional interviews and programme performance review. Content analysis and climate adaptation programming frameworks are applied. The study expects to find that fragmented programme coordination among multiple implementing agencies, inadequate local adaptation data, poor integration of indigenous knowledge, and limited community ownership of soil and water conservation technologies constrain climate-smart agriculture programme outcomes in the Yobe Sahel. Recommendations target developing a state-level climate-smart agriculture coordination platform, integrating community-based monitoring into programme management, expanding investment in agroforestry and conservation agriculture, and aligning programme design with the National Agricultural Resilience Framework. Keywords: climate-smart agriculture, Sahel zone, Yobe State, adaptation, agricultural management