By Olukayode Michael, Maiduguri
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has distributed seeds to over 80,000 families affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence across Nigeria.
This is to assist them during the 2019 planting season in order to prevent starvation and build the economy of those affected by violence across the country.
Among the seeds distributed, according to a statement by Aliyu Dawobe, Public Relations Officer, International Committee of the Red Cross, include maize, millet, rice, cowpea, hibiscus, sesame and vegetable seeds.
He said the seeds were given to the families depending on the type of farming practiced in the different regions.
He said the most vulnerable among them (victims of violence) also received cash to buy food, farming tools and other agricultural inputs, noting that those without direct access to markets received the food and tools instead of cash.
He said the food was meant to encourage them to plant the seeds instead of consuming or selling them.
Dawobe, in the statement, quoted Jane Clarke, who is head of ICRC operations in Adamawa state, saying that: “By giving cash at the same time, it allows farmers to both prepare the land, potentially purchase tools as well as the fertilizer and to buy food items in order to support their families and communities.”
The statement said the distributions, which began in March and was carried out with the help of the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), covered nine states including Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Nassarawa, Benue and Cross River.
One of the recipients, Boyomoso Eli, a resident of Wuro Dadi village in Adamawa state, Nigeria, was quoted to have said: “The things we received today…they will help us more and more.”
Humanitarian figures have shown that more than 7.1 million people in Nigeria need life-saving assistance, with the bulk of this number residing in the northeast where a protracted conflict between the government and armed opposition groups have continued to play out.