Host Country

Nigeria

Funds

Nigeria, ADB, IsDB, BADEA

Highlights

Successful results of the first phase of the NPFS prompted the Government to double the number of sites to reach 785,000 households, most of them poor or very poor.

Budget

US$363 million

Beneficiaries

70 000 households through the Site Development Component and 785,000 households through the Outreach Component.

Commencement Date

2001 - 2007 (Phase I)

Background

• As a first step towards the Millennium Development Goals target of reducing by half the number of hungry people by 2015, the Federal Government of Nigeria operated a pilot project of the SPFS in 3 sites in Kano State.
• Based on the successful experience, a 5 year nationwide National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS) was launched in 2001 with the objective of reaching some 30 000 farming families.
• The Government of Nigeria decided to implement the NSPFS with its own human and financial resources (US$45 million), whereas FAO provided technical and managerial support on demand to the Government.
• A Project Coordination Unit in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was established and charged with the task of launching field activities in all 36 Nigerian states, involving a total of 109 sites and 30 000 families.

Goals

To improve national and household food security and reduce rural poverty in an economically and environmental sustainable way

Objectives

• Improve household food security and incomes though increases in productivity, diversification and sustainable use of natural resources
• Enhance food security of consumers through improved access to and availability of food and also increase income of producers through more efficient marketing
• Enhance farmers' and consumers' access to support services such as extension, credit, nutrition and health education
• Foster participation of the poorer section of the rural population in the development of the community

Activities

• Water Use and Control
• Soil Fertility Management
• Agroforestry
• Crop intensification & Farm Mechanization
• Animal Production & Health
• Aquaculture & Artisanal Fisheries
• Agro-processing & On Farm Storage
• Marketing & Agricultural Inputs & Commodities
• Rural Finance
• Research-Extension-Framer-Input Linkage
• Nutrition & Health
• Group Development
• Community Development Fund
• Project management, Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation

SSC

• In March 2003, China, Nigeria and FAO signed a US$22.7 million, 4 year South-South Cooperation agreement, with funding provided by the Government of Nigeria.
• The Government of China provided 20 experts and more than 491 field technicians, with expertise in various fields of agriculture, small-scale water control, fisheries, livestock, veterinary care, agricultural production, rural energy, agro-processing, etc..
• A second phase of Sino-Nigerian SSC is presently being planned and a total of 500 Chinese SSC Experts and Technicians are expected to support the NPFS over the coming 5 years.

Results 

• The NPFS played a central role in achieving the Government's agricultural policy goals of boosting agricultural production for certain priority crops and commodities such as cassava, millet, rice, sorghum, vegetables and yams.
• The programme substantially improved food security and productivity, especially in marginal areas, and prompted the Government to double the number of project sites to 327.