Evaluation of the FAO response to the crisis in the Lake Chad Basin 2015‒2018

Forty-nine million people live in the Lake Chad region, exploiting its rich natural resources and relatively constant supply of water, fodder and fertile land all year round. The area used to be a food production hub, with local markets supplying produce to Cameroon, Chad, the Niger and Nigeria. However, poor natural resource management, poor coordination across the different countries of the region, and the widespread impact of climate change have contributed to the significant deterioration of the Lake’s natural ecosystem capacity. Agricultural soils and pastures have been widely degraded, leading to a huge reduction in food productivity and, thus, job opportunities, especially for the youth living in rural areas who account for a high percentage of the population. Conflicts and tensions have created a conducive context for young people in search of income and opportunities to join the Boko Haram terrorist movement originated in Nigeria.

This evaluation was conducted to address FAO’s response to the Lake Chad Basin crisis, including interventions conducted in 2015‒2018, as FAO published the Lake Chad Basin Crisis Response Strategy (2017–2019) to address the needs of the identified 6.9 million people affected by soaring food insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin in early 2017. The objectives of this evaluation were to analyse FAO’s responses to the crisis at operating level, with a focus on efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability, while assessing the relevance and consistency of the regional approach from a strategic perspective. The evaluation team visited many of the areas concerned, and at the end of each visit they organized a debriefing session with the respective FAO country team to share information gathered and collect complementary data and analysis to inform its deliberations. This helped to ensure transparency in the data collection process and to maximize the learning process.

For FAO to support the food security and nutrition of communities in the Lake Chad region effectively, a regional strategy focused on supporting the resilience of communities is relevant and appropriate. Complementary to FAO’s country-based programmes, a regional strategy bears the potential to devise interventions that adapt to the cross-border nature of issues that each country faces and would allow supporting a more cohesive and collaborative way of working. Based on the Regional Response Strategy (2017–2019), FAO should revise its strategy and approach by incorporating governmental objectives, and translate it into an operational action plan, in line with other partners’ strategies in the region.