Over 100,000 Farmers Receive Agricultural Intervention From FG
By Chris Nyamtu
Over 100,000 smallholder farmers in 63 local government areas of nine states have benefitted from agricultural interventions under the federal government-International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD Value Chain Development Programme.
National Coordinator Value Chain Development Programme, Doctor Fatima Aliyu stated this while leading a team of supervisors from the International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD to the Rice Milling and Processing Centre in Ashangwa Village of Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Ashangwa Village is one of the largest rice-producing communities in Nasarawa State which is part of the factors that the Federal Government took into consideration for the siting of the Rice Milling, Processing and Marketing Centre at the area under the International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD supported Value Chain Development Programme.
In an interview after taking the supervisors from the International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD to the various sections of the rice processing centre, the National Coordinator of the Value Chain Development Programme, Dr Fatima Aliyu, stated that the project had recorded a high number of smallholder farmers transiting from localised to the modern method of rice value chain.
Nasarawa State Coordinator of the Value Chain Development Programme, Dr Eunice Adgidzi, noted that as a result of consistent commitment and dedication, one of the farmer groups under the project in the state, Ashangwa Rice Innovative Platform, was the first in the country to procure a Rice Colour Sorter Machine.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Senator Abubakar Kyari represented by the Director, Project Coordinating Unit of the ministry, Dr Peter Kush remarked that the inspection visit to the Rice Milling and Processing Centre was to ascertain how well the project had been implemented in Nigeria to guide IFAD on deciding whether to extend the programme.
Chairman of the farmer groups under the project Ashangwa Rice Innovative Platform, Mr. John Bitrus Alaku, who explained that the Rice Milling and Processing Centre produces 400 of 50 kilogram bags of rice weekly, pointed out that the initiative had provided skills and job opportunities for the youth and women in the community.
In a remark, the Leader of the visitation team and Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD Ms Dede Ekoue pointed out that the implementation of the Value Chain Development Programme in Nigeria was satisfactory and stressed the need to strengthen collaboration with stakeholders for more improvement.
