How climate change, conflicts threaten food security in Northeast, by FAO

The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) has identified climate change and conflicts as threats to livestock production and food security in the Northeast.

Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states have been the worst hit by the 10-year banditry and terrorist activities in the region.

FAO’s head of office in the Northeast, Al Hassan Cisse, raised the alarm yesterday in Maiduguri, Borno State, at a stakeholders’ workshop on emergency livestock interventions.

He said many people who depend on livestock as a source of livelihood were, however, subject to unprecedented challenges.

The challenges, according to him, are climate-related shocks of drought, erratic rainfall and floods.

“The volatility of local and global markets and armed conflicts in the Northeast has taken a significant toll on animal ownership,” Cisse said. “Lack of livestock production has the potential to worsen the food insecurity situation.”

According to him, the vaccination exercise followed the damage to veterinary systems in the region.

He said the large-scale livestock campaign targeted internally displaced persons (IDPs), including residents of host communities and returnees.

On the livestock production interventions, Cisse said: “More than 60,000 households have been re-stocked with goats, bulls, rams and poultry in the last two years.

“About 420,000 animals have been vaccinated since the start of the FAO programme. Cattle, sheep and goats were vaccinated and medicated against the contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, bovine brucellosis and peste de petis ruminants.”

While the cost of re-stocking is $344 (about N123,840) per household, he disclosed that households were projected to benefit about $462 (N166,320) per production cycle.

“This has created a cost benefit ratio of 1:56 or $118 for each household,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, Senator Mohammed Ndume (Borno South, APC) has pleaded with 150,755 IDPs from Gwoza Council to return to their ancestral homes.

Assuring the IDPs yesterday of improved security at the Bakassi and Gubio IDP camps in Maiduguri, Ndume was visibly shading tears while begging them to return.

His words: “I am today extremely disappointed with IDPs from Gwoza for not returning, despite improvements in security to lives and property in most communities of the council.”