The Government of the Royal Kingdom of Norway has renewed its funding cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), targeted at assisting over 300,000 most vulnerable persons in Nigeria.
The Ambassador of Norway to Nigeria, Knut Eiliv Lein, said this on Friday at the signing ceremony to kick-start project implementation.
Lein said, “this particular program has a framework of about $6.3 million which we are signing today, that comes in addition to the core support that we are giving to FAO”.
The three-year intervention will benefit 43,990 households (about 307,930 individuals) with at least 45 percent of them being women as direct beneficiaries who will receive agricultural inputs, livestock assets, and energy-saving stoves.
The beneficiaries are internally displaced people (IDPs), host communities, and returnees of relocated households with special attention paid to women-headed households.
“This project is part of Norway’s larger support to Nigeria in general, including humanitarian efforts specifically targeting those in need in the northeast region.
“We have partnered with many organizations in addressing a number of issues, including health, food security, democracy, gender equality, and more,” Ambassador Lein pointed out.
On his part, Fred Kafeero, the FAO Representative in Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said “here we are looking at how we will provide inputs for farmers to be able to grow food.
“We are talking about improved seeds, high yielding but also drought resistant livestock because it is a key aspect in these particular communities, such as goat, poultry, some of those that are easily converted to income eventually.
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He appreciated the support by the Government of the Royal Kingdom of Norway, describing it as another milestone in strengthening the commitment to the fight against poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition in Nigeria.
“The new project, whose agreement we are signing here today, marks the continuous and fruitful collaboration, and partnership that exists between the Government of the Royal Kingdom of Norway and FAO in Nigeria,” Mr. Kafeero said.
He said the collaboration over the years has helped to douse the conflict that has affected populations of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states.
They have greatly benefited from the agricultural-based livelihood support that has enabled them to improve their food security as well as build their resilience.
The support also aims at enhancing resilience to the humanitarian crisis, climate variability, and change of vulnerable communities and building resilient livelihoods in the BAY states against the negative effects of climate change.
The project comes a few weeks after the release of the October 2022 food and nutrition analysis (Cadre Harmonisé), which indicates that about 17 million people, including IDPS and returnees in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory were in crisis or worse through October 2022. Three (3) million of these people are living in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states.
Furthermore, an estimated 25.3 million people are projected to be in crisis or worse levels during the 2023 lean season (June – August) with 4.4 million in Borno. Adamawa and Yobe, if immediate steps to scale up and sustain livelihood and food assistance are not taken.
Since 2017, the Government of the Royal Kingdom of Norway has issued financial support of more than US$20 million from the beginning of the crisis, reaching over 1,085,777 conflict-affected people in the northeast region of Nigeria.
