Osinbajo Boils As World Leaders Blow Hot, Attack Buhari, And The Entire APC
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, have on Friday, revealed that the food security situation in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin, is drastically deteriorating under the watch of the All Progressives Congress-led, APC, government.
The international organisation called for a decisive action to protect the livelihood of millions of families dependent on farming, livestock and fishing, for their food and livelihood.
According to the report, some 7.1 million people are now severely food insecure across the four countries.
Among them are 515 000 children who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition – a condition which if untreated, can lead to permanent damage to a child’s development and even death.
“In the worst-affected areas, famine continues to loom – and millions will remain trapped in cycles of severe hunger if we don’t enable farmers to start cropping now,” said Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO’s Emergency and Rehabilitation Division.
“Our collective efforts cannot be limited to merely avoiding massive famine – they need to allow people to return to a dignified life. And supporting agriculture is the key to both,” he said.
Besides reducing hunger and boosting nutrition, investing in farmers also provides much needed job opportunities that reduce migration and limit the potential for radicalization of unemployed youths, according to Burgeon.
Violence related to the armed group Boko Haram in North-Eastern Nigeria, has spilled over to parts of neighbouring countries in the Lake Chad Basin – specifically, Cameroon’s Far North, Western Chad, and South-Eastern Niger – with devastating effects on food security and livelihoods.
FAO is urgently calling for $30 million in immediate emergency support to help farming families in the four countries get ready to plant in the upcoming May planting season and prevent them from slipping into long-term dependency on food aid.
A total of $232 million will be needed to secure food production and access to food for three million people in the worst-hit areas over the next three years. The vast majority of the requested funds – some $191 million – is designated for Nigeria, which is bearing the brunt of the crisis.
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