Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic have collectively pledged €100 million to bolster the agricultural resilience of small-scale food producers in the Sahel region. The initiative aims for a lasting impact on addressing desertification and land degradation, with a focus on landscape and watershed management through participatory planning. It also seeks to effectively incorporate soil, water, and biodiversity considerations.
During the pre-launch of the International Fertilizer Development Centre’s new initiative, ‘Soil Values’, in Abuja on Monday, Programme Director Bidjokazo Fofana disclosed this announcement.
As per the Food and Agriculture Organisation, around 26.5 million Nigerians could potentially face a food crisis between June and August 2024.
The international organization highlighted that areas including Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara, alongside the Federal Capital Territory, were facing heightened risks. According to Dominique Kouacou, the FAO country representative, ongoing insecurity issues such as insurgency and banditry, as well as conflicts related to natural resources, coupled with elevated costs of food and agricultural inputs due to inflation, are contributing factors to food insecurity in the country.
Fofana remarked, “The program will bring together diverse donor communities to investigate possibilities for additional funding, which will benefit not only Sahelian nations but also the wider regional and international community.”
The €100 million allocation was distributed among the four nations, with Nigeria contributing €40 million, while Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic each committed €20 million.
Fofana elaborated that Nigeria was selected as the regional launch site because of its productivity and its potential to generate substantial impacts within the Soil Values program, expressing optimism about the country’s prospects.
“We have high expectations for Nigeria,” Fofana remarked. “Nigeria is highly productive and holds a pivotal role in the soil value program, surpassing Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic.”
