FAO to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on agricultural, food and nutrition security in Benin
Confronted with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed and executed a project in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries under the Technical Cooperation Program (TCP).
This initiative serves as assistance for the approach to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the agricultural sector, along with food and nutritional security. An update on the outcomes and influences of this TCP since its launch.
Clementine Dovonou, 30, collaborates with members of the Wabadou 2 cooperative in her rice paddies, part of a fifteen (15) hectare farming area in Covè, southern Benin. As the afternoon begins under the scorching sun, the farmers are diligently tending to their fields. FAO rice seeds have delivered exceptionally good results compared to our previous seeds, Clementine expressed in an interview she gave to the follow-up mission commissioned by FAO Benin and the MAEP. Celestine Hounzinmin from the Nouwagnon group, another FAO beneficiary, commends the quality of the maize from Glazoué in the Central-South of Benin, precisely 100 kilometers distance. Due to the FAO’s intervention, we no longer face as many challenges in obtaining seeds.
“The Covid-19 crisis had laid the groundwork for poverty…”
Indeed, rural women and youth in Benin have received assistance for accessing agricultural inputs thanks to Project TCP/BEN/3802, titled Support for the Plan to Mitigate the Impacts of Covid-19 on the Agricultural Sector and Food and Nutrition Security. The restrictions imposed by the Beninese government to curb the spread of Covid-19 created a scenario where the Project was conceptualized and enacted amidst challenges in seed accessibility. Covid-19 significantly impacted Benin, as it did many other countries around the globe; the first case was reported in March 2020. The government of Benin has responded to this situation by implementing several measures to control the pandemic. A sanitary cordon was established around the municipalities of Cotonou, Abomey-Calavi, Allada, Ouidah, Tori-Bossito, Zè, Sèmè-Podji, Porto-Novo, Sô-Ava, Aguégués, Akpro-Missérété, Adjarra, Toffo, Kpomassè, and Avrankou. Additional measures included the temporary closure of schools. The Covid-19 crisis had laid the groundwork for poverty here, reflects FAO beneficiary farmer Rose Aredina, Chief of the Omou village in Kétou in southeastern Benin and a maize grower. Producers found themselves immobilized. With the granaries deserted, food access became challenging.
To support the Beninese government’s efforts to “enhance the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises” associated with the pandemic, the FAO Project TCP/BEN/3802 was timely.
Project accomplishments
According to Mr. Eugène Djossou, MAEP executive and project coordinator for Project TCP/BEN/3802 at the FAO, “groups of women, youth, and individual farmers have thus far received 77 tonnes of NPK fertilizer, 16 tonnes of urea, 34 tonnes of maize seeds, 25 tonnes of rice seeds, and 720 boxes of 100-gram tomatoes.” The project also supported the Technical Support Unit for Food and Nutritional Security (CT/SAGSA) in conducting an assessment of food insecurity related to COVID-19 utilizing the methodology of the Harmonized Framework (CH) tool. Additionally, the realization and publication of the evaluation report of Benin’s agricultural campaign for 2021–2022, as well as the analysis of household economies during Covid–19, were achieved. Approximately four thousand individuals are believed to have benefited from the project so far (4000).
To enhance their capacity for producing fish feed with appropriate tools and methods, fish feed manufacturing facilities were analyzed as part of the project’s aquaculture efforts. To accomplish this, equipment has been ordered and will soon be allocated to the designated beneficiaries.
The marketing of the products collected during the initial agricultural campaign has been perceived by the beneficiaries as positively impacting households’ everyday lives. This encompasses the experiences of two rural women engaged in rice production, Clementine Dovonou and Marcelline Ahonou. They discovered that Project TCP/BEN/3802 not only made it easier for their families to obtain food but also provided resources for their children’s education through the sale of the harvested produce. “The grains are beautiful and large, and my clients have truly appreciated them,” remarks the producer of items made from FAO seeds. This is a statement from maize seller and cooperative member Dame Ogoumandjo Ramantou in Pobè, in southeastern Benin. This declaration highlights the quality of the crop cultivated using seeds supplied by Project TCP/BEN/3802.
From the north to the south of Benin, over 120 localities are impacted. The total budget allocated for the project was $486,000. It commenced in December 2020. The objective is to enhance the quality of life and strengthen resilience against the detrimental effects of Covid-19 in the most vulnerable populations of Benin by 2023.
