Deputy Director in charge of Foreign-funded projects, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Buba Godobe on Thursday expressed satisfaction with the performance of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)’ Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) in Taraba.
Godobe, who led the team of officials of the ministry on inspection to Taraba disclosed this shortly after he was conducted round some projects in the state by the State Programme Coordinator (SPC) Irimiya Musa.
According to him, VCDP intervention in improving the living condition of the rural rice and cassava farmers, processors, and marketers in the state was very satisfactorily.
“The success recorded by VCDP in Taraba and other selected states in the country has made the programme a model for others in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.
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BusinessDay gathered that some of the activities during the visit were workshop for Youth and Women Enterprise development training and selection exercise in the state.
Chyka Unamma, the IFAD Adviser on Agricultural Production, who facilitated the workshop said the training was aimed at expanding the scope of businesses from rice and cassava.
“The training is centered on 11 enterprises from rice and cassava such as spraying destoning, packaging, agro-inputs shop, storage, seed formulation, irrigation among others,” he said.
The national adviser pointed out that the VCDP programme deals with farmers in groups and who are registered with the state governments adding that the workshop was aimed at making enterprises among the producers of rice and cassava within the value Chain programme.
Olivia David, a participant commended VCDP for teaching more effective ways of producing and marketing seedlings to farmers.
“I am gradually becoming a seed expert courtesy of VCDP training, I have being undertaken and I now make good sales of my seedlings and I hope for better after this training,” she said.
