The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has supported 20,000 vulnerable household farmers with seeds and cash to cushion the effect of COVID-19 in four states.
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The ICRC disclosed in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Aliyu Dawobe, on Friday in Abuja.
The states are Cross Rivers, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Bauchi.
According to the statement, the seeds were distributed for the upcoming planting season.
“Distributions is also ongoing to another 16,000 families in Borno.
“Together with seeds, the farming communities also received cash to enable them to buy food during the lean season.
“ICRC fears that without support, families could face a particularly difficult lean season, as COVID-19 disrupted supply chains, sending food prices up.’’
The statement quoted ICRC agronomist in Borno, Kouadio Kouame, as saying: “people have endured war and displacement and we are helping them to stand back on their feet.
“The spread of COVID-19 made large distributions very difficult to organise.
“But if we miss the beginning of the planting season, it will take 12 months to catch up’’.
The UN estimates that in the North-East of Nigeria, 2.9 million people are food insecure and the figure could rise to 3.7 million by the June – August lean season.
People affected by the armed conflict and violence are particularly vulnerable to the economic impact of the pandemic.
Prolonged, sometimes multiple displacements, insecurity, difficult access to land and other resources have tested their resilience, stretching it to the limit.
It said that ICRC had to revise its initial plan to adapt to the realities of the pandemic.
“Movement restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the virus added another layer of challenges to the complex security environment.
“At the same time, taking all the necessary measures to avoid people gathering in crowds and ensure handwashing doubled the duration of distributions,’’ ICRC stated.