FAO launches 5-year programme framework to achieve zero hunger in Nigeria

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched a five-year Nigeria’s Programming Framework which is mainly targeted at achieving zero hunger in the country.

Suffyan Koroma, the FAO country representative in Nigeria, said the program would actually guide FAO’s engagement with Nigeria over the next five years.

Highlighting the programs, Koroma said “the first one of this is to strengthen national food and nutrition security through enhanced nutrition sensitive and climate-smart food systems, the second pillar is to support appropriate and operationally effective agricultural policy and regulatory framework.

“The third one is to support Nigeria’s economy diversification agenda and the promotion of decent employment for youth and women. The fourth pillar is to improve the efficient and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems, while the fifth pillar is to enhance disaster risk reduction, resilience building, and emergency management towards strengthening the humanitarian Development nexus”.

He further said “these priorities are well in line with Nigeria’s development objectives and are captured in the Economic Recovery Growth Plan and the Agricultural Promotion Policy and other relevant policies and strategies.

These priorities will represent the main areas of our work to achieve Zero Hunger, and we will implement them through well-targeted programs in a sustainable manner towards contributing to the successful attainment of 2030 agenda to sustainable development.

He, therefore, said FOA would continue to count on the government of Nigeria and their national and international development partners who have been supportive of their programs and projects.

In his remarks, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh expressed concern over the continued cutting down of trees which would lead to desert encroachment in the future.

While calling for actions to end cutting down of trees, Chief Ogbeh said the country is also faced with getting the right seeds to withstand heat and drought if the desert finally encroaches.

“The new danger facing us is that of tree falling everywhere in the country, where people are engaged in cutting down trees to produce firewood even for export, most people to realize that deserts are coming at a terrible speed, and the desert is closer than we imagined, and all you need for the desert to prosper is r trees to be cut down.

“As the desert approaches us, we are facing difficulties with finding the right kind of seeds to plant which can endure high temperatures and also give us good yields for nourishing ourselves”, Chief Ogbeh noted.