Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods Project (FNLP) is a multi-component development project based on the graduation model pioneered by Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) that intends to help 42,000 very poor households across rural communities of northern Nigeria’s Sokoto and Kebbi states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). FNLP is a 5-year program implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Both the program and the impact evaluation are funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
This program approach is founded on an agriculture-led growth strategy that is expected to help vulnerable families diversify their income and grow assets while the community is strengthened by improving nutrition, water sanitation, and hygiene. The most vulnerable families receive cash transfers. A caseworker-led livelihood mentoring scheme also matches households with the resources they need to engage effectively in the local economy and break free from the cycle of poverty and malnutrition.
The impact evaluation, led by The World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL), is being conducted in Kebbi state in North-West Nigeria and will evaluate the impact of the overall program as well as two experiments that focus on the impact of the cash transfers and the caseworker mentoring scheme. Baseline data was collected for the FNLP starting in May 2015.