The rise of refugees fleeing to Niger from the violence of the Boko Haram will put additional strain on Niger's food supply.
According to Reuters, Niger's Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said during a meeting with financial partners on Wednesday that the country will have considerable difficulty feeding its people in addition to the tens of thousands of refugees that have fled to Niger as a result of fighting in northeaster Nigeria.
"The state does not have enough resources to handle this situation and that's why we need help," PM Rafini urged financial partners during the meeting.
The country is already facing a deficit in its cereal production, Reuters reported. According to the nation's Agriculture Minister Maidagi Alambey, Niger's cereal deficit is at 230,000 tonnes in 2014/2015.
The deficit is a result of uneven and insufficient rainfall in the region.
In response to the crisis, United Nations' Regional Humanitarian Coordinator Robert Piper told Voice of America (VOA) that the UN is now taking efforts to raise money to address the food and humanitarian crisis in the four nations affected by the fighting against the Boko Haram, namely Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon.
"There is a massive protection crisis unfolding before us in Nigeria. We are scaling up all of our resources, our operations - not only in northeast Nigeria, but in Chad, Cameroon and Niger - to respond to this massive crisis," Piper said.
VOA said that the UN has launched a worldwide appeal to raise $2 billion worth of humanitarian aid to the region.
The British Red Cross also pledged £595,000 or roughly $632,000 worth of aid from its disaster fund in response to the crisis in the region. The British Red Cross said that the money will be spent on humanitarian relief efforts in Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria, including disease outbreak protection and the provision of the basic necessities for people affected by the conflict.
