Save The Children International (SCI), a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), has advised the Federal Government to partner with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to engage households on early warning forecast to prevent food crisis in Nigeria.
The Country Director SCI, Nigeria, Mr Famari Barro, said this at the National Advocacy Strategy Workshop for Early Warning using Household Economy Analysis(HEA) organised by SCI in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to SCI, HEA approach is adapted in highlighting and pointing toward populations in need of support, ahead of time.
“HEA provides information on the effect of changes to household access to food as well as their livelihood,” he said.
Barro said that the training for government and CSOs officials became necessary to share information on food security situation thereby averting cases where households would become vulnerable economically.
“We all know the importance of Household Economy Analysis especially for Save the Children in the specific context of our strategy which is to responding to threats from COVID-19 , conflicts and climate change.
“Household Economic Analysis is a very important tool, because it provides analysis on different vulnerabilities, identify the different vulnerabilities and analyse the effects of different shocks.
“It provides both qualitative and quantitative information on food security as well as acute situation and ultimately provides an early warning system for decision makers,” he said.
Barro urged thevparticipants to be active in the workshop and take note of information that would be provided by experts so they could be prepared to provide the necessary support for the country.
Mr Nelson Yidawi, Household Economy Approach Coordinator, SCI, said that the organisation was concerned about early warning systems in Nigeria to provide focus on the food security situations in the country.
Yidawi said that SCI had been doing this since 2010 in Borno Yobe,Jigawa, Bauchi, Katsina and Zamfara because it saw the need for capacity building for CSOs and then the government.
“We are also looking at the sustainability of the early warning systems in Nigeria, so we are building the capacities of government and CSOs so that subsequently information regarding food security situation will be forecasted.
“This is so that we do not have to wait for a hazard to occur before we act,we want the situation to be adequate, so as to support and then meet the needs of the vulnerable persons in the country.
“We have been collecting information in terms of food security situation in the North , we have been seeing a lot of insurgency increment, which has resulted in loss of properties,” he said.
Yidawi said that SCI felt the need to engage the stakeholders so that household situations could be forecasted in order galvanise action based on the forecast without allowing the household to engage into negative coping strategies.
Mr Bulama Dauda, a National Member, Cadre Harmonise and a representative of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the event was important to teach stakeholders on cadre harmoniser as an early warning tool.
According to Dauda, Cadre Harmonise gives information about the food and nutrition security situation of an area, be it local government, state and country.
“As we all know, the crisis we are facing now mostly in the country has affected most households and farmers.
“So with this tool, we can analyse and know the true picture of a given area or estate.
“So far, the tool has helped government and the partners to give support and intervention for the most areas that are affected in terms of food and nutrition insecurity situation,’’ he said.
