Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic have collectively invested €100 million to boost the agricultural resilience of small-scale food producers in the Sahel region.
The initiative aimed to make a lasting impact in the fight against desertification, land degradation, landscape and watershed management through participatory planning, effectively integrating soil, water, and biodiversity.
The International Fertilizer Development Centre’s Programme Director, Bidjokazo Fofana, announced this during the pre-launch of its new initiative ‘Soil Values’ in Abuja, today.
In 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said no fewer than 26.5 million Nigerians may face a food crisis between June and August 2024.
The international body said states such as Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara, including the Federal Capital Territory, were at a bigger risk.
The FAO country representative, Dominique Kouacou, blamed persistent insecurity situations such as insurgency, banditry, and other challenges like natural resource-based conflicts, and high costs of food and agricultural inputs due to inflation for food insecurity.
Fofana said, that the programme will convene various donor communities to explore avenues for additional funding, benefiting not only Sahelian countries but also the broader regional and international community.
Explaining the choice of Nigeria for the regional launch, Fofana expressed high expectations, citing Nigeria’s productivity and potential to drive significant impact within the Soil Values program.
The Senior Technical Adviser IFDC, Prem Bindraban, highlighted plans to provide training to farmers to enhance their agricultural practices.
