About 2000 youths to benefit from EU, FAO projects

By : Njadvara Musa, Maiduguri

Date: 26 February 2019 5:11am WAT

In this photo taken on September 15, 2016 women and children queue to enter one of the Unicef nutrition clinics at the Muna makeshift camp which houses more than 16,000 IDPs (internaly displaced people) on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. Aid agencies have long warned about the risk of food shortages in northeast Nigeria because of the conflict, which has killed at least 20,000 since 2009 and left more than 2.6 million homeless. In July, the United Nations said nearly 250,000 children under five could suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year in Borno state alone and one in five -- some 50,000 -- could die. / AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS

About 2,000 youths from states affected by insurgency- Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, will receive bulls as part of the initiative to restore livelihoods between 2018 and 2019, Country Representative of United Nations’ food agency, Nourou Macki Tall, has said.

Besides, the European Union Trust Fund is supporting the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of UN, to establish safety net projects in the Northeast.

The EU would spend €22.2million or N11.1billion on the projects that are estimated to be implemented in three years.

FAO’s representative disclosed this in Maiduguri, while distributing 150 bulls to youths living in insurgency affected Councils of Jere and Konduga, Borno State.

“The implementation of this project was in collaboration with the
World Food Programme (WFP), and The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNWOMEN), and FAO.

“About 2,000 youths in insurgency affected states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe; will receive bulls as part of the initiative to restore livelihoods between 2018 and 2019.”
He added that the youths would benefit from animal health support, livestock feed and training by FAO.

He further disclosed that WFP would distribute cash to meet their immediate needs, while UNWOMEN will deliver gender equality and cooperative management training.

“If no humanitarian support is extended, 2.7 million people will suffer food insecurity between June and August, 2019,” he warned.

He said the productivity of youths could be unlocked with strategic and complementary support including animal restocking for depleted herds, caused by insurgency.

Other adopted strategies, he explained, include access to start-up capital, markets and training in livestock production.

He said the distribution of bulls and other livestock; will provide an alternative source of income.

“If young people have a productive livelihood in agriculture, and can meet their daily needs, they are far less likely to become hypnotiSed by insurgent groups,” he assured.

Under the two-year project, FAO will reach about 100,000 households in Borno, including farmers, agro-pastoralists and fisher-folks.

He further disclosed that to boost livestock production, 10,000 IDP households are targeted in Borno for other livestock distribution, including goat and poultry.

He said all the livestock are quarantined and vaccinated, ensuring a safe introduction to the communities.

The EU-funded project will also engage local and traditional leaders to promote greater youth access to land and business opportunities.
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