The Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Svein Baera, has announced during a signing ceremony in Abuja that the Norwegian Government has allocated $1.4 million to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). 

This funding is aimed at combating food insecurity in the affected areas of the North-East. 

Baera further pledged additional funds to alleviate the suffering of the people in the region.

“We are living in a time when global aid is going down; some countries have been forced to cut their aid budgets for various reasons.

“That means that even tougher priorities are taking place in Nigeria and many other countries.

“In this situation, I am proud and thrilled to say that Norway has been able to find additional funds for the FAO in Nigeria to help feed the people who need help in several states,” Baera assured.

The FAO Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dominique Kouacou, said that with the financial boost, the FAO would scale up its efforts to provide the affected communities with the necessary support to recover and thrive despite prevailing crises and natural disasters.

He assured that FAO would train farmers to boost production and end hunger.

Kouacou commended Norway’s support for the FAO and promised that every dollar the organisation receives would be used to achieve food security in the country.

“FAO has successfully supported over 700,000 individuals in the North East with various agricultural initiatives, helping them achieve food security.

While our initial plan in January was to assist 50 farmers, funding limitations allowed us to support only 25. However, with new funding, the FAO can now provide more farmers with essential resources like fertiliser and seedlings.”

Source: FAO

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