A farmer in the Muna Dalti community in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, irrigating his garden.

CRS has provided agricultural support to vulnerable people displaced by Boko Haram violence, returnee, and host-community members in Borno State.

With funding from USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), CRS is providing e-vouchers for farmers to purchase inputs locally, like seeds and tools, while supporting the local shops and economy.

There are also plots of land in the community used for demonstrating best practices for small-scale crop production.

Boko Haram violence has reduced the production of staple crops by forcing farmers to abandon their fields, while the security situation has hampered the movement of food and pushed up the cost of trade.

Background:

An estimated 10.7 million people in one of the world’s poorest, most drought-prone regions, have been affected by the Lake Chad Basin humanitarian crisis, sparked by Boko Haram extremists. Now in its seventh year, it is impacting Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. Having re-established its presence in Nigeria in 2000, CRS works with its local partners—leveraging their extensive grassroots networks and capacity to reach the rural poor—in 32 of the country’s 36 states.

Working in 10 local government areas of Yobe State, CRS has been providing a multisectoral emergency response since 2014, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), polio and routine immunization, and emergency food assistance for conflict-affected communities. In July 2016, CRS launched operations in Borno State, providing vulnerable households with immediate relief through integrated programming aimed at meeting families’ need for food, living supplies, WASH and shelter.