Dubai: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) have partnered to improve the food and nutrition security of internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and host communities in northeastern Nigeria.
The ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria continues to drive alarming levels of food insecurity and malnutrition in the country, exacerbating vulnerabilities, particularly in the three most affected states – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, where according to the latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis (November 2022), 3.8 million people are projected to be in high acute food insecurity, as per the report.
2.2 million men, women, and children have been displaced as a result of regional conflict and climate change. FAO will provide agricultural input packages and training on agricultural practises and climate-smart innovative technologies to 58 000 individuals and 8 400 families in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states as a result of the MBRGI grant in order to increase the productivity of their crops and livestock.
As part of the project, agricultural field schools will be established, and experts will seek to increase crop yield for families during the rainy season while also providing wholesome grains and vegetables for the dry season. The project will also help households in urban and semi-urban regions produce vegetables, give livestock and fodder for women, and provide chickens, goats, and fodder for those who have been harmed by conflict and are vulnerable.
To aid those impacted, immediate assistance is needed in northeastern Nigeria. Assistance for agriculturally based livelihoods reacts to this issue by enhancing the resilience of food security, assisting vulnerable rural communities, and empowering women through livestock and agricultural training programmes to improve their standard of living.