Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is mandated to lead international efforts to defeat hunger. Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts to make sure people have access to enough high-quality food. FAO considers the Right to Food as the right of every person to have regular access to sufficient and nutritionally adequate food for an active, healthy life. It is the right to feed oneself in dignity, rather than the right to be fed.

Technical Cooperation Programmes (TCPs): FAO Provides support to the Nigeria Government through small projects which address specific problems in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors. The aim of a TCP project is to produce tangible and immediate results in the battle against hunger and to catalyze long-term changes. The TCP is one of the FAO's tools for contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and particularly the goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.

National Programme for Food Security (NPFS): The NPFS project in Nigeria aims at improving national and household food security and reduce rural poverty in an economically and environmental sustainable way. The 2^nd phase of the project commenced in 2007 and FAO is providing technical supports to the project.

FAO's Initiative on Soaring Food Prices: FAO launched an initiative to boost food production in the short term which is known as initiative on soaring food prices (ISFP). It has simple but effective goals: distribute seeds, fertilizer, animal feed and other farming tools and supplies to smallholder farmers to help them cope with the rising cost of food. Part of the initiative is advising governments on policy measures in response to the crisis. The FAO Country Guidelines provides an overview of differentpolicy responses to higher food prices, their possible effects, advantages and disadvantages. FAO is currently supporting the Nigerian Government with the supply of improved seeds, fertilizers and otheragriculture inputs for this planting season.

Fighting Bird Flu & Rinderpest: At the outbreak of bird flu in Nigeria in 2006, FAO deployed technical experts to give advice in areas such as policy and strategy, trained local experts and provide laboratory equipment, vaccines and protective clothing. FAO continues to promote regional cooperation and coordinate donor contributions to fight bird flu in Nigeria. FAO is also targeting rinderpest as it continues to campaign against the deadly livestock disease rinderpest.

New system unveiled to monitor fisheries: FAO unveiled a new source of information aimed at improving the monitoring and management of fish stocks. The fisheries Resources Monitoring System contains data on catches and stock levels, fishing fleet activities, fishing mortality and biomass trends, management practices and more. Coordinated by FAO, it garners details from regional fisheries management organizations and other agencies. The project was launched amidst mounting concern over the overexploitation or depletion of species.