The three target countries – Cameroon, Nigeria, and Uganda – have put forth policy positions targeted at driving the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ideals, including through enhancing environmental action, food security, and socioeconomic transformation. Environmentally, all three countries have ratified their commitments to climate action, popularly called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and have also submitted updated NDC commitments. As an example, in Nigeria, its updated NDCs prioritise cutting methane by up to 61% by 2030 while cutting crop residues being burnt by up to 50%. Uganda on its part has committed to reverse deforestation, increase use of sustainable cooking energy by 25 - 40%, as well as clean cook stoves. Cameroon, on its part, has committed to substituting unclean biomass with biogas by increasing biodigester investments by 5 – 10%. Furthermore, 2 of these countries – Cameroon and Nigeria – have committed to the methane pledge to cut methane emissions. In addition, these countries have put in place, various national climate change legislations to operationalise these commitments. Uganda has the National Climate Change Act of 2021. Nigeria has the Climate Change Act, which also mandates the country to put in place national climate change action plans every 5 years and a carbon budget to operationalise its commitments. Cameroon, on its part, has key sectorial policies to operationalise the NDCs – including the forest code, as well as policies, including the National Adaptation Plan to Climate Change and the National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (NDS30) among key ones The countries also have elaborate agriculture and other socioeconomic policies that prioritise not only enhanced food security but also value addition, reversing postharvest losses (PHLs), and climate-proofing agriculture. Uganda has a National Agriculture policy in addition to national food standards issued through the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). Nigeria has the National Policy for Agriculture, as well as a strong entrepreneurship culture in its academic institutions that train youth in accessible enterprise areas where agriculture fits, considering that it is the most inclusive sector in the country. Cameroon has the National Development Strategy (NDS30), which prioritises increasing agricultural productivity and creating income & opportunities.

These policies are in the context of enhancing socioeconomic growth as expressed in the country development blueprints, which also include environmental action and agriculture and food systems as an area of economic diversification and growth, with key interventions including the reversal of PHLs. This includes the National Development Plan (2021- 25) in Nigeria, vision 2035 and SND30 in Cameroon, and vision 2040 and 3rd National Development Plan in Uganda. Their realisation is also prioritised in the United Nations Sustainable Development Frameworks (UNSDCFs) of these countries through the UN country teams (UNCTs), wherein each of them, there are “enviro-centric” priority areas that aim to enhance environmental sustainability simultaneously with the actualisation of socioeconomic priorities.

Enhancing socioeconomic growth as expressed in the country development blueprints, which also include environmental action and agriculture and food systems ;

In Cameroon, these are “Strategic Priority 1: Inclusive and sustainable growth through a structural and green transformation of the economy that creates decent jobs” and “Strategic Priority 4: Environmental sustainability and efficient climate and disaster risk management”. In Nigeria, it is “Outcome 2.1: By 2027, Nigeria benefits from improved food security and nutrition, and sustainable food systems and natural resources management”, and “Outcome 2.2: By 2027, Nigeria is implementing improved management of climate change risk and building resilience to adapt to its long-term impact through the National Determined Contribution (NDC), sustainable energy production/ consumption and climate finance”. In Uganda, it is “Strategic Priority 2: Shared prosperity in a healthy environment”. The work done focused on the application of environmental solutions – nature, climate, pollution action – towards enhancing food and livelihood security and realisation of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), all which aligns to actualise different socioeconomic priorities of the development blueprints.

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