ECHO supports improved agricultural livelihoods among households, impacted by COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflict in northeast Nigeria
Mobilizes more than a million USD for FAO to protect livelihoods of 140 000 vulnerable persons in the region
Maiduguri - The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) has mobilized over USD 1 million for the Food and Agriculture Organization, (FAO) to enhance food production, and mitigate protection risks among households affected by the armed insurgency and COVID-19 pandemic in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states, northeast Nigeria. The funding is the latest of ECHO’s support to restoring livelihoods and building resilience in the war-torn region.
Through the funding, FAO will further strengthen the essential functioning of Food Security Sector, a multi-partner unit that coordinates the provision of food and livelihood assistance to millions of affected households in the region. The funding will also support the restoration of agricultural livelihoods and improvement of protection of women and men through the provision of quality and improved agricultural inputs for food production during the 2021 rainy and dry seasons farming. This will be combined with the provision of extension services through the establishment of farmer field schools. Finally, under the same ECHO funding, FAO will increase the capacity for production and provision of environment-friendly fuel-efficient stoves (FES), largely to women. The availability of the FES is expected to reduce the women’s exposure to protection risks which are associated with a frequent foray into insurgents-infested forests for firewood. Recent studies by FAO revealed that households that use the FES have their trips to the forests to fetch firewood reduced by 50 per cent while they also save about 50 per cent from the cost of firewood.
“This funding, which is a continuation of ECHO’s long-standing support to FAO in Nigeria, will significantly contribute to the recovery and resilience-building efforts in northeast Nigeria,” said Fred Kafeero, FAO Representative in Nigeria. Working in close collaboration with the Government of Nigeria at national and sub-national levels, FAO will implement the initiative in partnership with local and international development partners to ensure its sustainability.
Northeast Nigeria is at the centre of one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world, which resulted from an armed conflict that has killed more than 30 000 people and displaced over 2 million since 2009. The latest Cadre Harmonise analysis results projected that over 4 million persons will be in dire need of food assistance in the BAY states between June and August 2021, an increase of about 19 per cent from the same period last year. The recent gains achieved in the region by humanitarian actors have been eroded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
About FAO in Nigeria
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been operational for over 42 years in Nigeria. Over the years, FAO has been working directly with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and its departments and agencies as well as other relevant ministries in the country. FAO provides strategic support to agricultural development programmes and policies aimed at reducing poverty, improving food security and nutrition, sustainable management of natural resources, inclusive value chain development, emergency response and resilience building.
Contacts
Emmanuel Kihaule David Tsokar Opeyemi Olagunju
Communications Specialist Communications Specialist Communications/Reporting Officer
FAO Nigeria FAO Nigeria FAO Nigeria – North East Sub Office