Nigeria Program Updates

Agriculture is the mainstay of Nigeria’s rural economy. However, the sector still faces myriad challenges. The sector struggles with a lack of proper legislation and weak enabling environment for agribusiness, limited access to appropriate financing options, poor commodity value chain networks, climate change and the environmental consequences of industrial activities. 

Over the past three years, a unique collaboration between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Nigeria’s Bayero University in Kano (BUK), and Florida State University (FSU) in the United States has helped Africa’s most populous country strengthen its ability to teach early grade reading, the foundation of lifelong learning.

It was a good day when Ramatu*, a widowed mother in northeast Nigeria, first used an electronic voucher to purchase food: “I was so happy. I danced when I got home, telling my children and grandchildren that our days of hunger have gone.”

In a state hard hit by violent extremism, Nigerian youth are developing a shared sense of identity and fellowship across different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, building stronger relationships and communities. And they’re doing it through sports.