Nigeria

Fifty percent of the population in Nigeria live in rural areas. About 25 percent of Nigerians depend on agriculture and women make up about 38 percent of agricultural workers. About 90 percent of the agricultural output comes from the smallholder sector. Typical farm sizes range from 0.5 ha in the densely populated high-rainfall south to 4 ha in the dry north. An estimated six percent of the total population is undernourished (as of 2007), down from nine percent in 2002 surveys. Malnutrition in children is high: 29 percent are underweight, and 38 percent suffer from stunting.

Video: FAO in Nigeria

FAO's main in-country programmes

Special Programme for Food Security
FAO has been assisting Nigeria in the field of food security since 1999. The Special Programme for Food Security began operations with water control in four pilot sites in Kano State. Based on a request from the Government of Nigeria for rapid expansion of investment in agriculture, FAO assisted in the formulation of a large National Special Programme for Food Security in 1999. Following the completion of the pilot phase in Kano State, the first five-year national programme was launched in November 2001, with a total contribution of US$68 million from the government. The programme supported 30 000 families in 109 production and demonstration sites.

National Programme for Food Security
As a direct follow-up, the Government of Nigeria launched a five-year expansion phase of the National Programme for Food Security in March 2007. The programme is nationally owned and responsibility for its implementation is entirely with the government. FAO has been requested to provide technical support in selected areas.

The programme emphasizes the role of agriculture in the national economy, the need to improve smallholder productivity and the importance of sustainable agriculture for food security. The programme targets one million families through six additional agricultural production and demonstration sites in each of the country's 36 States and two additional ones in the Federal Capital Territory. The 327 sites serve as platforms for development and outreach into communities not directly covered by the project. The major components of the programme are:

• land and water development;
• production enhancement and diversification;
• community development and institutional support; and
• project management.

EMPRES animal health component
The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) is focusing on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and several livestock diseases in Nigeria.

The first outbreak of HPAI in Africa was reported in Nigeria in February 2006. An EMPRES officer immediately undertook an emergency mission to Nigeria for a rapid assessment of the situation and served as team leader of the joint task force of FAO and the African Union-Interafrican Bureau of Animal Resources to support Nigeria in the control of HPAI outbreaks. In early 2007, the death of a woman from avian influenza prompted the deployment of an emergency mission by the FAO, the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Crisis Management Centre - Animal Health and the World Health Organization. A suspected outbreak in wild birds was reported in July 2008. The level of the virus circulation in the country remains unknown and additional epidemiological surveys are needed. Nigeria is currently a beneficiary of five ongoing HPAI projects at global, international and regional levels. A national medium term plan to control HPAI in Nigeria has been developed for the period 2008-2010.

FAO is supporting Nigeria to undertake surveillance of rinderpest and submit a dossier to the World Organisation for Animal Health for accreditation for freedom from rinderpest in Africa.

Since 2003 EMPRES has also been addressing other livestock diseases: African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease and Newcastle disease. Although not originally foreseen within the project, HPAI was included in the activities after EMPRES sent global early warning messages in mid-2004.

National Medium Term Priority Framework
FAO embarked on the preparation of a National Medium Term Priority Framework following a request from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources in 2007. The framework was articulated through wide stakeholder consultations and participatory prioritization. The objectives of the priority programmes are: expansion of production, food security, human capital development and fundamental human rights. These objectives support the government's development goals of promoting economic growth, improving livelihoods, sustainable development and policy and institutional reforms. The goals are in line with Nigeria's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the Millennium Development Goals.

The framework fits into the themes of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for Nigeria: 

• strengthening governance and accountability;
• promoting productivity and employment; 
• transforming social service delivery; and 
• reducing the risk of crisis, conflict and insecurity.

One UN - One Programme
Nigeria is not yet a pilot country of the UN reform, but the UN country team has taken steps to implement the One-UN strategy. UN agencies will undertake joint programming in providing assistance to achieve the UNDAF outcomes in six pilot states.

Last updated: 29 July 2011