Across northern Nigeria, climate change is accelerating conflict between nomadic herders and settled farmers. As pastureland shrinks and traditional grazing routes disappear, livelihoods are under threat — and the country’s dairy sector is struggling with poor yields, land disputes, and dry-season feed shortages.

This pilot set out to test whether hydroponic fodder systems — which grow nutrient-rich grass in just 7 days using 80% less water and 98% less land — could offer a viable, community-led alternative. The aim: reduce open grazing, increase milk production, and lay the groundwork for scalable, inclusive, climate-smart cattle systems

• Technical feasibility proven: The system was successfully constructed and operated in rural Nigeria using mostly local materials, reducing water use by 80% and land use by 98% compared to traditional pasture.
• Demonstrated productivity gains: Hydroponic fodder led to a 400–600% increase in milk production (from 0.7L to 3.5–4.7L per cow/day) and improved fodder digestibility, contributing to a 50% drop in methane emissions.
• Community engagement and co-ownership: Despite initial scepticism, herders and farmers saw value in the system’s potential to reduce conflict and improve livelihoods. Hands-on training and local construction strengthened adoption.
• Climate co-benefits unlocked: Results support future carbon credit potential linked to methane reduction, offering new incentives for climate-aligned livestock practices.‍
• Business model insights surfaced: While Nigeria’s macroeconomic volatility (seed inflation, fuel subsidy removal, FX devaluation) limited the viability of the original financial model, several

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