Paulsen, Baera and Cisse listening to explanation on some products made by rural farmers with support from FAO
Rein Paulsen of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome and the Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Svien Baera, have visited Borno State on assessment of impacts of FAO interventions in the frontline state affected by insurgency.
Speaking to newsmen on the visit in Maiduguri on Saturday, Paulsen who is the director of FAO Office of Emergency and Resilience in Rome, assured FAO commitment to do more for Nigeria in areas of food security and poverty alleviation through active collaboration.
Paulsen said the organisation would continue to support Nigeria who is a member, particularly in assisting rural dwellers who depended on agriculture for survival.
“FAO is a first and foremost a development organization. Our interest is supporting countries, vulnerable rural households in finding durable solutions to the challenges they faced.
“Solutions for the future and about ability of families to produce for themselves.
“We want to build ability to strengthen resistance and this is what we have been doing”, Paulsen said.
He said that his team has visited communities supported in areas of crops, fisheries and livestock production in Borno to be self reliant and was impressed with what it saw.
Also speaking, the Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Svein Baera, whose country was among major donors to activities of FAO, said he was impressed with FAO interventions in Borno.
“I have been an ambassador for a couple of months now and this is my first trip to Northeast and I am very pleased to see how FAO is carrying out work together with the local communities.
“We have seen that in Bama LGA yesterday and in Maiduguri today, how people are given hope for the future by providing them the needed skills and inputs so that they can do better themselves.
“I was more optimistic now after this visit than I was before I came to Borno, ” the ambassador said.
While in Borno, the FAO delegation interacted with some farmers who displayed samples of their poultry, vegetables, food and cash crops harvested at a ceremony.
Many farmers who spoke, lauded the support from FAO in making them self reliant and building their resilience, which they said has gone a long way in enabling them to stabilized as they recover from the insurgency.
