The Country Representative of Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, Fred Kafeero has said that insurgency has prevented 68,800 farmers access to agricultural inputs in the Northeast. According to him, inaccessibility to improved seeds and fertilizers have resulted into food insecurity and poverty among the populace. Kafeero disclosed this Thursday, while flagging off the 2021 rainy season farming interventions at the Farm Centre, Maiduguri. “This is the sixth rainy season farming intervention being conducted by us in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states since 2016,” he said, stating that supporting the rainy season farming is key to the entire insurgency affected region.
He noted that farmers’ harvests contribute significantly to food security and income generation throughout the year. On donors’ agricultural interventions, he said: “The rainy season interventions were made by Canada, the European Trust Fund for Africa, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Protection, Germany, Norway and Sweden.” “Access to agricultural inputs for high yields, also saves lives and livelihoods of farmers,” he said, adding that the distribution of seeds and fertilizers have contributed to the building of people’s resilience to conflict. He said that this year, 65,800 household farmers were supported with agricultural inputs and livestock restocking, while 40,000 farmers were targeted for the distributed inputs.
“They will receive wet blended fertilizer and a variety of seeds of crops including vegetables, cereals and pulses,” he said, noting that this will engage the farmers in agricultural production for food security and income generation. He said food security and livelihood conditions in insurgency affected states, still require humanitarian assistance, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic that reversed recent gains. While lamenting food insecurity, he said: “The latest CH analysis results projected that over four million people will be in need of food assistance between June and August, 2021,” warning that there will be an increase of 19 per cent in food requirements. Governor Babagana Zulum disclosed that the state has been devastated by insurgency, as 70% of farmers were affected with the destruction of their means of livelihoods.
He said that the state government, as part of its 10-pact agenda; has prioritized agriculture for food security and farmers’ incomes. According to him, food security requires massive investment in the ongoing agricultural transformation programmes for job creation and economic growth. Zulum, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Isa Hussaini, said: “Investments in the agricultural sector provide buffers for insurgency devastated areas,” he said, adding that cohorts have been established for skills development centres for vocational training and technical skills acquisition across the state. He said the training of youths to acquire skills was to empower them to become self-reliant.
According to him, agriculture lays the bedrock of the 25- year development plan and the 10 years transformation initiatives. While applauding FAO’s agricultural extension services, he said: “May I seek your indulgence to request for extension of some of those agricultural interventions,” adding that the interventions be extended to areas where peace and normalcy have been restored by the military. He disclosed that normalcy has returned to Marte, Baga, Kukawa, Ngoshe, Banki, Damasak, Magumeri, Nganzai and Gubio communities. The Commissioner of Agriculture, Bukar Talba reiterated that the agricultural interventions support; are to strengthen food production capacity of farmers and their livelihoods. He said that the state government has trained extension workers to provide relevant information on the use of new technologies in agriculture. He therefore urged the beneficiaries to utilise the inputs judiciously, instead of selling them for selfish interests.
