UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday announced a 58 million pound ($73 million) aid package to boost food security in Nigeria, during his first official visit to Africa’s most populous country.
The funding included 55 million for projects to lift Nigerian food production and resilience to climate change, plus 2.89 million pounds for rural communities to improve animal health and promote cleaner cooking practices that reduce carbon emissions. The money is part of a 95 million pound program announced at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt last year.
“Nigeria has a booming population and the largest economy in Africa — there is huge potential for an even closer partnership between UK-and Nigerian businesses which will be of mutual benefit to both countries,” Cleverly told reporters in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Two thirds of Nigeria’s workforce is involved in agriculture and the vast majority of its farmers are smallholders who cultivate modest plots of land.
