By Abdullahi Lukman
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has intensified efforts to strengthen food security and create employment opportunities for vulnerable communities in northeast Nigeria.
Speaking during a field visit to the insurgency-affected Gongulong community on the outskirts of Maiduguri in Borno State, FAO’s Senior Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer in the state, Dunja Dujanovic, said the agency’s integrated agricultural support programme has been transforming livelihoods since 2019.
She explained that the intervention focuses on empowering small-scale farmers through a combination of crop production and aquaculture.
Under the initiative, communities cultivate and harvest food crops collectively, while selected farmers engage in fish farming to improve household nutrition and income.
Dujanovic noted that beyond boosting food availability, the project also supports nutrition outcomes. Farmed fish are sold to private sector operators and food processing centres, where they are used in the production of fortified porridge aimed at preventing severe acute malnutrition among children.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts to rebuild resilience and restore livelihoods in conflict-affected communities across the region.