FAO, Japan collaborate to tackle food insecurity, malnutrition in Nigeria

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), says it will address food insecurity and malnutrition in the north-east region of the country, with funding provided by the Japanese government.

Fred Kafeero, Nigeria’s representative to FAO, disclosed this in a statement issued  by David Tsokar, the organisation’s communications specialist, on Thursday in Abuja.

According to the statement, Kafeero, also Nigeria’s representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said the result of the latest ‘cadre harmonise analysis’ led by the federal government, indicates worrisome food consumption deficiencies and malnutrition.

He said the development could cause severe food and nutrition insecurity if immediate actions were not taken.

Kafeero added that the intervention programmes would enhance availability and access to fresh and nutritious foods, and energy for cooking to improve food security, and nutrition situation and protect target vulnerable households.

“This initiative would align itself with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) on food security and nutrition which are also in line with the second pillar of the Yokohama Declaration of 2019 of deepening sustainable and resilient society,” he said.

“It will also boost local production of nutritious foods among internally displaced persons (IDPs), host communities, and returnees, and also support the production and distribution of energy-saving stoves.”

Kafeero said these steps would reduce the frequency of fetching firewood from bushes which is associated with the risk to women and the environment in general.

According to him, the decade-long insurgency plus the lingering impacts of COVID-19 had intensively reduced access of farmers to agricultural livelihood opportunities.

He, therefore, said about 49,000 people will be reached through the project with a combination of interventions to meet the immediate food and nutritional needs of the most vulnerable beneficiaries.

“The fund from Japan would contribute to FAO’s overall plan and funding requirements as contained in the 2022 humanitarian response plan (HRP), which cuts across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe,” he added.

“The initiative targets to support the anticipated beneficiaries at the peak of the lean seasons to enable them to engage in their farm activities without disruptions.

“FAO’s sustained interventions in the north-east remain critical in restoring the livelihoods of the conflict-affected populations and hinged on the objective of improving food security.”

Kafeero added that the programme would go a long way to improve nutritional status among vulnerable and pandemic-affected households such as IDPs, returnees, women and girls in the region.

On Monday, the Japanese government and the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced a $5 billion financial cooperation to support countries facing debt challenges in the region.

The pledge was also to cover food security, with agriculture and nutrition as priority areas under the cooperation.