TO improve access to nutritious food and revive the
livelihood of Cameroonian refugees and their host communities in Nigeria, the
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
has distributed farm tools to 1,000
households in seven local government areas in Cross River State.
The intervention was carried out under the joint project
“Agriculture and Livelihood Support to Cameroonian Refugees and Host
Communities in Cross River, Benue and Taraba States”.
Implemented by FAO in partnership with the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as part of the ‘Delivery as One’ (DaO)
concept adopted by the United Nations system in Nigeria, the project is also
facilitated by governments of the catchment States.
The intervention targets seven local governments in Cross
River. They are Oguma, Ikom, Obanliku, Boki, Etung, Akamkpa and Calabar.
In Benue, Ikyogen settlement was targeted, where the state
government has resettled the refugees.
The FAO Country Representative in Nigeria, Suffyan Koroma,
said the items are carefully selected to assuage the livelihood challenges of
the refugees, especially “the most vulnerable women.”
He said the micro gardens would support the food and
nutrition needs of the households and increase the resilience of the affected
population to threats and crisis.
The
target beneficiaries were trained on backyard gardening, nutrition
sensitive agriculture and food systems, agriculture value chain and market
access and mainstreaming gender and protection in agriculture & livelihood.
