The FADAMA III Additional Finance (AFII) Programme says it has provided emergency food assistance for 73,685 persons who were displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno.
The FADAMA Project Coordinator, Mr Bukar Talba, said this on Wednesday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.
“The FADAMA III (AFII) project is expected to reach out to 6,640 households, with a population of 73,685 direct beneficiaries and over 2.2 million indirect beneficiaries in the 24 participating local government areas of the state.
“We are able to reach out to the targeted households with food assistance; each household received a 50kg. bag of rice, a 50kg. bag of maize, a 25kg. bag of beans, 10 litres of vegetable oil, food seasoning and salt,” he said.
Talba said that 3,181 households were provided with farm inputs to encourage crop production, adding that the inputs included fertilisers, seeds, chemicals, knapsack sprayers and water pumps.
He also said that sheep, goats, calves and chickens as well as feeds and animal drugs were also distributed to 3,389 households to enable them to engage in livestock production.
The coordinator said that the beneficiaries were also trained in modern farming techniques in order to ensure the sustainability of the programme.
Besides, Talba said that the programme rehabilitated roads, constructed boreholes with hand pumps and market stalls, as part of its rural infrastructural development project in 19 communities that were ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgents.
“The programme is designed to enhance food sufficiency, boost livelihood support and facilitate rehabilitation of infrastructure in communities that were ravaged by the insurgents.
“The projects were being implemented, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Victim Support Fund (VSF) and the European Union (EU).
“The Borno State Government has paid N40 million as its counterpart funding to the programme for 2017 and 2018,’’ he said.