For 18 months, the Federal Government of Nigeria has kept the dreams of 5,916 young Nigerians hanging, on what is fast becoming another white elephant scheme.
Each beneficiary of the FADAMA Graduate Unemployed Youth and Women Support (FADAMA GUYS), an initiative of the FGN-World Bank FADAMA Additional Financing III, was supposed to get between N1.8 million and N1.9 million. Part of the conditions was for them to stay in agriculture and not take up any other employment for three years.
The World Bank reportedly backed this project with about N9 billion, and many of these now-disappointed beneficiaries say the fund has been released to the ministry of agriculture, where disbursement was meant to be done. However, till date, the beneficiaries are clueless as to what has caused the delay. Some have even suggested that certain individuals may be reaping interests from the funds, which should have been disbursed.
The program trained 5,916 candidates, selected in 23 states in collaboration with 60 training institutions across the country. According to the ministry of agriculture, these candidates have adopted simple and fundable agricultural enterprise modules in various agribusinesses ranging from poultry, fishery, small/large ruminant fattening, crop production, processing, extension services etc.
These young people, mostly degree holders, since enrolling for the scheme, as part of commitments expected of them, had borrowed and raised capital for agribusinesses that have now failed to take off.
On Twitter, one user uploaded a video, which was only 30 seconds long, but showed how what would have been a poultry farm now looks like an abandoned scrap yard. The abandoned cages rust away, and much of the structure is falling apart. Apparently, the would-be FADAMA beneficiary was to set up a poultry farm, and as part of his commitment, put up much of what would house the birds. The grant, which would have been used to get chicks and raise them, has still not surfaced six months after he made the video.
Aliyu Gubio, a graduate of Microbiology from the Federal University of Technology Minna, first heard about what he thought was an opportunity through the FADAMA Twitter handle and was excited. He signed up in April 2017. Three months later in July, he was trained for two weeks at the Kaba college of agriculture after which he was given a certificate. After the training, they were expected to show commitments, before government provides the grant for their agribusinesses to take off.
“Myself and other FADAMA GUYS were made to lease lands of two hectares to grow crops. I personally spent N80,000 naira to lease a two hectare land for the farming purpose as we were made to understand that the program starts immediately after the training.
“Up till date we have not been disbursed and we don’t know anything about when the disbursement will be made, or if it will ever be made. Most of us have lost all hope. We were made to understand that the program is World Bank funded and so we must take it seriously but it is almost two years now and nothing to show for it,” said Gubio in an interview.
He furthered explained they were made to sign a three-year contract, which forbade them from seeking any other job during their contract tenure.
“This has really kept most of us behind as we have turned down job offers hoping to get the FADAMA GUYS agro grant,” he lamented.
Jubril Geidam, another prospective beneficiary was already into poultry farming from his days as an undergraduate, and for him, this was meant to be an expansion into cultivation of maize and cassava. The two-hectare land that he leased has remained unutilised
In Taraba state, Bala Ahmed leased 1.5 hectares of land for a period of three years to cultivate Tuber crops precisely yam and cassava. Even after submitting his business plan, which has since been verified by FADAMA staff, he has been unable to cultivate anything due to lack of funds.
Bala in an interview said he was surfing the internet in search of job opportunities when he came across the FADAMA advert calling for applications to the programme. Since then, he has neither gotten a job or the grant promised even after his investments and commitments towards it.
“I have invested a lot of time, money and remained unemployed, while expecting a grant to become an agropreneur. I can only hope that the federal government of Nigeria has not scammed us. From research I found out that a huge percentage, if not all of the fund was released by the World Bank, and the government has refused to disburse it,” he said.
Asked the reason for not going ahead on his own, Bala explained that he didn’t have money for ploughing, ridging and seedlings. “Yam seedlings are very expensive,” he said.
Also from Taraba state, Bashir Danjuma, a graduate of the Federal University of Technology, Yola, said he has been into rice farming for five years. Since he was already into farming, he decided to expand by two hectares, hoping he could gradually move from being a small farmer.
“Unfortunately, the financial capacity is not there to give the boost to another level,” said Danjuma, who had to borrow from relatives to meet the requirements to be eligible for the FADAMA funds.
Yomi Alade from Ondo state graduated from the Kaduna polytechnic, with a HND in business administration. In 2017, he heard of the FADAMA programme and according to him, applied online on April 15, 2017. He attended a two-week training session in July at the Federal University of Technology, Akure along with 297 hopeful young Nigerians. However, as at the time of the last revalidation exercise in November 2018, only 260 showed up. According to him, some of his friends quit their previous jobs to enrol in the FADAMA program, on the assumption it was going to secure their future as entrepreneurs who could also create jobs.
After submitting his business plan, which he says was subsequently, ‘standardized’, he was approved for the N1.8 million grant.
“We don’t have farmers in our family, but I ventured into it due to the opportunities in agriculture,” Yomi said when he was interviewed.
He also revealed that after the last revalidation exercise of November 9, 2018, some of his colleagues were no longer active. “Some exited the program due to other opportunities they found, failure from FADAMA to disburse, and some are dead,” Yomi said.
Asked for the identities of any of the deceased prospective beneficiaries, he said “No one in my state, but I do see their pictures updated on our WhatsApp group, Facebook group and other social media.”
BusinessDay reached out to the World Bank office in Nigeria, to clarify the status of the funds it was meant to disburse for this programme. Adetunji Oredipe, the Task Team Leader of the Fadama Project, wrote in an emailed response inter alia that, “due to time lag between the training and readiness for disbursement, the National office had to undertake a revalidation exercise which was eventually concluded end of November, 2018. We have been informed that disbursement of funds to affected persons should commence at the first quarter of 2019.”
On its part, the ministry of agriculture has been unable to offer explanations as to why the dreams of these expectant 5,916 young Nigerians have been toyed with for a year and half. To many hopefuls, they may have been used as pawns in the political chess game to get public goodwill by the government.
The real names of FADAMA GUYS interviewed have been changed to avoid possible retribution.
CALEB OJEWALE
