Pressure is mounting on rural communities hosting displaced people affected by the Boko Haram terrorism activities over palpable extension of the attacks on them, reports NaijaAgroNet.
This alarm is coming from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) which lamented that three consecutive planting seasons have been lost due to the fighting in northeastern Nigeria.
The United Nation’s agency stressed that large influxes of people escaping repeated Boko Haram attacks have put extreme pressure on already poor and vulnerable host communities and their fragile agricultural and pastoral livelihoods, thereby exacerbating the already precarious food and nutrition security situation.
FAO cautioned that failure to rebuild the rural economy will translate into lack of employment opportunities with possible harmful consequences including youth radicalization and enrolment into armed groups, resulting in continued civil unrest.
Similarly, FAO said, restarting food production in the newly accessible areas will have the additional benefits of encouraging displaced populations to return to their homes, while contributing to their improved health and nutrition, hence, it recently commenced seeking of assistance in that regard.
NaijaAgroNet recalls that in northeastern Nigeria, FAO has provided agricultural kits to vulnerable internally displaced people with access to land and host families.
These kits included improved varieties of millet or sorghum and cowpea seeds – a locally adapted and highly nutritious pulse – and fertilizers, enabling beneficiaries to grow their own food during the ongoing rain-fed season. The harvest is expected to start by the end of September and will allow beneficiaries to cover their food needs for up to 10 months.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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