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Northeastern Nigeria - Adamawa, Borno and Yobe: Situation report - October 2018

Countries
Nigeria
Sources
FAO
Publication date
Origin
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KEY MESSAGES

  • Northeastern Nigerian farmers have begun harvesting cereal, vegetable and cash crops (cowpea, groundnut and sesame), following the provision of seed and fertilizer to 112 500 households (790 000 people) in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe under FAO’s 2018 rainy season programme (June‒August 2018). The season appears to have been effective for numerous farming households, lessening the need for food assistance in some areas.

  • Escalating since August 2018, cholera has affected more than 2 000 households in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, the majority of which are agriculture-dependent.

  • FAO faces a funding gap of USD 13.9 million to boost agricultural production in the forthcoming 2018/19 dry season (beginning in October 2018 in most areas) as well as year-round livelihood activities.

BACKGROUND

The states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe have faced a nine-year-long conflict resulting in the massive displacement of people, significant human, social and economic losses, and high levels of food insecurity, particularly in Borno. The overall impact of the conflict on agriculture is estimated at about USD 3.7 billion (World Bank and Buhari Plan). There are about 1.92 million IDPs in the three northeastern Nigeria states (DTM IOM, Round XXIV, August 2018), more than 80 percent of which are in Borno. Due to the influx of IDPs and the tense security situation, host communities are facing reduced access to land and other resources for food production, leading to high levels of poverty and malnutrition.

Northeastern Nigeria also faces severe climate variability, which negatively affects production systems, resulting in reduced crop yields and livestock productivity with cascading effects on agricultural livelihoods. The number of people facing acute food insecurity in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa has significantly reduced over the past year, from 5.2 million (June‒August 2017) to 2.9 million (June‒August 2018).