Emergency food security and livelihood assistance to conflict-affected populations in Northeast Nigeria

An estimated 4.1 million people are at risk of critical food insecurity in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States (“BAY States”) of Northeast Nigeria, including 1.4 million children likely to suffer acute malnutrition during the peak of the 2022 lean season. The impact of the ongoing conflict and the displacement of over 2 million people has left vulnerable populations with limited access to agricultural productive assets including land, seeds and fertilizers. In addition, food and fertilizer prices have steeply increased in the past two years in Nigeria and the World Food Programme (WFP) expects this to be further exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine.

This project, implemented in conflict-affected areas of the BAY States, seeks to respond to the abovementioned challenges and mitigate future shocks by supporting agriculture-based livelihoods assistance to enable vulnerable households (HH) to produce their own food for consumption and surplus for sale, and improve their access to sustainable cooking energy solutions.

• Most vulnerable (but productive) conflict-affected HH including IDPs, returnees and host communities
• Women with constrained access to fuel and energy
• Women with limited access to land
• Poor HH who cannot afford quality farming inputs

Outcome 1: Improved food production and productivity for conflict-affected households in Northeast Nigeria

Outcome 2: Improved protection for households with critical cooking energy access in Northeast Nigeria

Expected results:  

• 3000 HH provided with diversified essential agricultural inputs for rainy season food production; 2000 HH provided with improved quality seeds and fertilizers for the 2022/2023 dry season production
• 1000 HH provided with essential inputs for urban and periurban homestead gardening
• 5 farmer field schools (FFS) established
• 350 vulnerable conflict-affected women provided with goats and feed (150) and poultry and feed (200)
• SAFE kits (Fuel Efficient Stoves + Briquettes) provided to 3000 cooking energy constrained households
• Integrated gardening and aquaculture inputs provided to 40 HH

Results from previous phases:  

• 8,400 HH in the BAY States benefited from interventions including support to rainy/dry season farming, urban and periurban farming, farmer field schools, livestock restocking (goats and poultry), Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) and Fresh Food Vouchers (FFV)
• 74% of dry season beneficiaries have generated income from sale of their produce contributing 10 to 44% of HH income
• SAFE intervention has reduced the weekly firewood consumption by 58% and expenditure by 51%

UN Agencies: IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF, Food Security Sector and SAFE Working Group members

Local authorities: Ministries of: Agriculture; Animal Resources and Fisheries Development; Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Resettlement; Water Resources; Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; Environment

Civil society: Farmer/herder/fisher folk groups, women’s associations, youth platforms, I/NNGOs

Phase 2 01.10.2022 - 31.12.2023   (Active)