Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
The Bauchi FADAMA III AF II (Food Security and Livelihood Support Project) is to fund Bauchi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) with farm inputs and food assistance under the project to the tune of $5 million.
The State Project Coordinator (SPC), Dr. Ali Garba, who disclosed this in Bauchi recently, said Community Action plans have been prepared by the IDPs with the assistance of the project facilitators, pointing out that the project will also support 67 Community Action plans of 40 households.
He said seeds, fertiliser, water pump and other farm inputs will be funded, adding that “Other support include rural infrastructure such as construction of culverts, Fadama access road, water facilities and other farm implements.”
According to him, “this support will enable the IDPs return to farming activities which will make them return to their businesses. Other activities to be supported include poultry, fishing, rearing of small ruminants such as goats, and sheep, among others.”
Earlier, the Project had carried out sensitisation visits to the IDPs, with appraisal exercise, needs’ assessments and baseline surveys to know the current conditions of the IDPs before the commencement of disbursement of funds to them.
In a statement made available by the Communications Officer of the project in Bauchi State, Mohammed Danladi Abdul, it was indicated that recently a mine and security awareness campaign was conducted to the IDPs in order to create security consciousness among the displaced persons.
The team and the State FADAMA officials informed the displaced communities at Inkil village in Bauchi Local Government Area (LGA) that the project will support them to go back to their farmland for agricultural activities.
The SPC, who was represented at Ningi LGA by Mal Zailani Othman Zadawa, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer (M&EO), further said the Food Security and Livelihood Emergency Support Project will be implemented only in the North-east region of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Yobe and Taraba States where the insurgency has been more devastating.
He also indicated that the activities will include restoration of agricultural activities such as inputs and on farm and post-harvest productive assets to support economic activities with special attention focus on women and youth.
The MEO said, “Food assistance will also be provided to support the waiting period for harvest, and for the teeming youth among the displaced persons, there is provision for cash for work approach. Another area of support by the AF II is rehabilitation and investment on rural infrastructure such as markets, fence, post-harvest and storage facilities, while others include houses for livestock, rural roads e.t.c.”
The SPC, Garba, informed the Chairmen of Dambam, Misau, Darazo and Ningi LGAs that the project’s purpose of the visits was to bring to their notice that the World Bank/Federal Government of Nigeria are collaborating to address the urgent food and livelihood needs of the displaced persons among them.
He explained that the project will support critical agriculture selected activities in order to return the affected individuals to a sustainable development process, adding that the State Government has commenced payment of the counterpart fund for smooth implementation of the project in Bauchi State.
