The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) have partnered to launch new climate resilience and food security initiatives across Africa. Central to this collaboration is a £275 million ($347 million) Emergency and Resilience Plan (ERP) for 2026–2028. 

While unveiled in Abuja to support 12.6 million people in Nigeria’s northern regions, the programme represents a broader joint effort to deploy agricultural innovation and emergency support throughout the continent.

The intervention is a response to alarming projections that 34.7 million Nigerians could face acute food insecurity by mid-2026, including over 5.4 million malnourished children.

“Agriculture is not only a livelihood; it is a life-saving intervention,” said Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative in Nigeria. 

The ERP is built on four pillars: emergency assistance, climate-smart production, job creation in agrifood value chains, and improved early-warning data systems. 

The goal is to move beyond temporary food aid toward long-term rural stability.

While Nigeria focuses on immediate food security, Morocco is advancing the continent’s climate science. 

At its Benguerir campus, UM6P has installed a Brewer spectrophotometer, a high-precision instrument that measures atmospheric ozone and ultraviolet radiation. 

This technology will allow scientists to monitor the ozone layer’s ability to absorb harmful UV-B radiation, providing vital data for environmental policy across Africa.

Furthering the dialogue on innovation, UM6P’s “Green Talks” series recently explored new models for agricultural value creation. 

Lotfi Belmahi, Chief Transformation Officer at UM6P, emphasised that transforming African agriculture into an engine of resilience requires a tight alignment between scientific research, government policy, and private sector investment.

Source: The Nations Online
Image Credit: FAO