The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in collaboration with the Borno State government flagged off 2021 rainy season cultivation for 65, 000 smallholder farmers to support the food insecurity in the war-ravaged region.
Head of Office FAO Northeast Sub-Office Maiduguri, Al Hassan Cisse, stated this during the launch in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.
Cisse said it has become inevitable, as productive assets of farmers have depleted during the 12-year Boko Haram insurgency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states respectively.
He disclosed that it underscores FAO’s work in the region as they design agriculture-based interventions that seek to build the humanitarian-development and peace nexus.
He raised concerned that food insecurity is a still big concern as insecurity persists in the region.
“We are convinced that this rainy season intervention will contribute to food availability for the beneficiary households and by extension, their communities.”
”This year, with the support of our generous donors, we are reaching 65,800 households in the three states, 40,000 of whom are in Borno state.
“These farmers will receive wet blended fertilizer and a variety of seeds of crops including vegetables, cereals, and pulses to enable them to engage in agricultural production.
“In a context where the food insecurity is a still big concern, we are convinced that this rainy season intervention will contribute to food availability for the beneficiary households and by extension, their communities.
“In the context of conflict, food production is central to entrenching peace, building resilience, and promoting sustainable development.” Cisse said.
He stressed that the 2021 rainy season is funded by the People and Government of Canada, the European Union Trust Fund for Africa, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden.
In his remarks, Chief of Staff to the Borno State Governor, Prof. Umaru Hussein, thanked the United Nations and other development partners for identifying with the people of BAY states.
He urged FAO and others to sustain their intervention while charged the farmers to cultivate the improved seeds to ensure that food security is a guaranty in the region.
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