FAO, WFP to assist farmers in Nigeria, Congo

The Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have stepped up efforts to assist farmers and alleviate hunger in Nigeria and Congo.



In north-eastern Nigeria, hunger has considerably declined for the first time since the Boko Haram crisis. According to the latest Cadre Harmonise food security analysis, the number of people living in the three states affected by violence who are facing acute hunger has halved since last August from 5.2 million to 2.6 million.

The analysis attributed this to an overall improved security situation and the ramping up of humanitarian and longer-term livelihoods assistance by the Nigerian government and its partners.

FAO has helped farmers in the area by providing cowpea, maize, millet, sorghum, vegetable seeds and fertilises to one million people - internally displaced people, returned refugees and host communities - to get them through the last rainy season which ended in September 2017.

Food stocks become low during this period. The harvest season is now winding down and communities are transitioning to the next dry season and a new planting phase. FAO is aiming to boost local production through the distribution of farming kits, vegetable seeds, fertilisers and irrigation equipment across 780,000 people in three states.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, FAO and WFP will be working in the Greater Kasai area, which has been affected by conflict. FAO will supply food-growing kits, including cultivation tools and fruit and vegetable seeds to allow families to eat for two months and sell any food that is uneaten.

Citizens will receive training in raising guinea pigs as a source of protein, and in processing and marketing bamboo to use for fishing equipment, canoes, fences, firewood and utensils. Additionally, WFP will distribute fortified maize, legumes, fortified vegetable oil and iodised salt, as well as cash.

Children aged from six months to five years, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women will be treated for three months with nutritious supplements. The joint initiative will be rolled out in partnership with the DRC Ministry of Agriculture and local NGOs.

Greater Kasai was a maize-producing region before the conflict, which has forced a million people out of their homes and off their land. An estimated 3.2 million people are now severely hungry and child malnutrition is widespread.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Agric forum to encourage greater technology use by women

Image
Organizers of a one-day agricultural forum for women in Benin, the Edo State capital, have said the event will focus on increasing the awareness of available agricultural and outreach technologies for women in agriculture. The forum which will be anchored by Market Development Programme in the Niger Delta (MADE) with funding from UK Aid, is collaborating with Markets II, funded by USAID and Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta, PIND and the Edo State Cooperative Farmers’ Agency is being held for womenas part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day. Mr. Fidelis Ekom, MADE’s Communications and Advocacy Manager, in a statement at the weekend said the forum also seeks to facilitate mindset change for women in the adoption of modern technologies and to facilitate engagement between women in agriculture and relevant value chain actors. Ekom said the forum will bring together women farmers in aquaculture, cassava, palm oil, poultry, hon
Read more

7 FEPSAN members to produce 1m tonnes under Presidential Fertiliser Initiative

Image
Seven active blending companies within the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) have been revived and are among the 1st of five batches that would produce 1 million tonnes of fertiliser under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, Thomas Etuh, President of FEPSAN has said. Etuh who disclosed this while speaking on Presidential Fertiliser Initiative noted that most of the plants owned by FEPSAN members are being revived after being dormant for over a decade. He expressed the hope that more plants would join the initiative before the end of April “Some of the blending plants which have already been supplied with raw materials including phosphate from Morocco and are blending include Fertiliser and Chemicals Ltd, Kaduna, producing 300,000 metric tonnes; Al-Yuma Fertilizer Company (300,000 metric tonnes) in Madobi-Kano; Kano Agricultural Supply Company, supplying 15 trailers daily and Golden Fertiliser based in Lagos. “Others blending plants ha
Read more

Saudi investors identify Kwara as host for proposed Agric City

Image
In a move that will further boost food security in Nigeria and contribute to the diversification agenda of the government, Zain Al-abdin Group, an investment company based in Saudi Arabia, has announced plans to set up a multi-purpose Agric City in Kwara State. Speaking to newsmen at the end of his visit to the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed in Ilorin, Zain Al-Abdin Nafawi, Chairman of Zain Al-abdin Group said the city or settlement will comprise a cluster of farms specialising in cultivation, processing and export of rice, maize and vegetables. Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, Governor, Kwara State   Governor Ahmed in his welcome speech to the Saudi delegation noted that the multimillion dollar investment is in line with the state government’s plan to broaden the state’s economy, feed the people and provide feed stock for industries. He expressed delight at the decision of the Saudi group to invest in Kwara State. Nafawi who led the delegation including other
Read more