DEC-PROSELL: EU Food Secur. & Resilien DEC Nigeria is a membership, non-governmental, non-religious, non-political organization that provides social and microfinance services to women groups, communities and NGOs in Nigeria to enhance their capacity for sustainable development. The development exchange center was established in November 1987 as a result of a joint research conducted by the Canadian University Services Overseas(CUSO) and the Adult Non Formal Education Agency(ANFEA) Bauchi State.  The research findings showed that women especially those in ruralareas are greatly disadvantaged in both the social and economic terms-usually resulting from some harmful cultural practices, religious beliefs and coupled with a high degree of material poverty, thus making women highly dependent on men. There was a strong need by CUSO and ANFEA to establish a programme to respond and address this issue in a more sustainable way. The centre started as a resource center for the sharing and exchange of developmental information with women groups. DEC hascontinued to pursue its broad objective of empowering women through provision of entrepreneurial skills acquisition and development, training and capacity building workshops, water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion, health care, education and information, good governance and peace building and microfinance services. DEC head office is located in Bauchi and currently working in 21 states; Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Plateau, Nassarawa, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue, katsina, Zamfara, Niger, FCT, Cross River, Kogi and Enugu. DEC has a membership strength of over 189,000 borrowers, 146,818 active savers in 7,400 groups, thus giving the center a good representation in the region with a potential of regional poverty alleviation.
Nigeria is Africa's largest economy by some estimates, but in many ways, the country is not typical for the continent.  Despite strong economic growth, its progress in reducing poverty and tackling gender inequality has lagged the continent as a whole, ranking 152 out of 188 countries in the world on the UN Human Development Index.   Within Nigeria, Taraba state is considered among the poorest states in Nigeria.   It is bordered by Adamawa state to the east, Gombe and Bauchi states to the north, Plateau,Nasarawa, and Benue states to the west, and the Republic of Cameroon to the south. Specifically, according to a UN report published in 2015 which assessed poverty level by state in Nigeria, Taraba state ranks29th out of Nigeria#s 36 states for wealth, with 77.7% of its population living below the poverty line (a far higher poverty rate than the national average of 46%).

A number of factors negatively impacts livelihoods in Taraba state, primary among them are human insecurity challenges and climate change.  Human insecurity challenges and political instability result from prolonged skirmishes ofethno-religious and land resource-based conflicts, which are exacerbated by an influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the Boko Haram insurgencyin Northeast Nigeria, entering Taraba by way of neighbouring Adamawa state. Climatological uncertainties aggravate an already vulnerable agricultural system, as temperatures and the rainfall pattern and distribution become less predictable, and communities face cycles of flooding and drought which negatively decrease production and shut down market opportunities along commodity value chains, thereby placing the Global Acute Malnutrition status of the state within the stressed threshold.  As such,the natural resources which poor people in rural areas depend on for their food security # land and water # are degrading in quality against a background of rising competition for their possession . The state#s population of over two million  now live in communities that are experiencing increased exposure to stressed food consumption status and their livelihoods is at crisis level,  with levels of stunting in children at 43% (higher than the Nigerian average of 37%).

The population of Taraba State is heavilyreliant on the agricultural economy, though there is little reliable data to indicate exact numbers (one estimate is 80% of the population).   The Taraba State Government has identified a number of challenges to food production levels, including: lack ofinfrastructure such aswarehouses/silos and market facilities; inadequate supply and distribution of improved agro-inputs; lack of lack of organised markets and weak private sector participation in agricultural development activities; and prevalence of farmer-herder conflicts.

In the light of the above, Oxfam proposes to grow a resilient commodity value chain and rural enterprise model that will benefit small-scale farmers in Taraba state, Nigeria. The action will fast-track agricultural productivity,promote access to markets, increase income,and improve socioeconomic stability in selected communities within the state.  Ultimately, small-scale farmers participating in this action will be able a) to produce (#PRO#) enough food to feed themselves andtheirhousehold; and b) produce a surplus of food that can be sold (#SELL#) into a market to sustain an income (together, #PROSELL#).