The Government of the Royal Kingdom of Norway has signed an agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to provide $6.3 million in assistance to over 300,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), host communities, and returnees of relocated households in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, and Taraba states in north-east Nigeria.
The Ambassador of Norway to Nigeria, H.E. Knut Eiliv Lein, was in Abuja during the signing ceremony to kick start the project’s implementation and noted that the project is part of Norway’s larger support to Nigeria through FAO in general, including humanitarian efforts specifically targeting those in need in the northeast region.
Ambassador Lein pointed out that the support to the IDPs comes in addition to the core support that his country is giving to FAO, adding that Norway has partnered with many organizations in addressing a number of issues, including health, food security, democracy, gender equality, and more.
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The FAO Representative in Nigeria and to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Fred Kafeero, appreciated the support, describing it as another milestone in strengthening the commitment in the fight against poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition in Nigeria.
According to Kafeero, the assistance is intended to provide farmers with inputs such as improved seeds that are high yielding but also drought resistant, as well as to assist them in livestock production, which is important in those communities.
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“The new project, whose agreement we are signing here today, marks the continuous and fruitful collaboration, and partnership that exists between the government of the Royal Kingdom of Norway and FAO in Nigeria,” Mr. Kafeero said.
