A combined team of supervisors from the Federal Government, International Fund for Agricultural Development of the Value Chain Development Programme (FGN/IFAD-VCDP), recently visited Nasarawa State to assess the progress recorded in harnessing the programme’s initiatives in the state.
The program started in 2020, across different communities in Lafia, Doma, Wamba, Nasarawa and Karu Local Government Areas, with the mandate of strengthening rice and cassava value chains and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers on a sustainable basis in the state.
The FGN/IFAD-VCDP project is basically to increase food security, reduce rural poverty, as well as enable beneficiaries to embrace new agricultural technologies that will improve their livelihoods.
The team, which also comprises representatives from the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Finance, Environment and Women Affairs, Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Cooperation, Association of Small Scale Agro-producers in Nigeria and some financial institutions, was the 11th joint supervision mission to the state.
Their visit was essentially to assess the level of performance since the inception of the programme, its impact on the beneficiaries, challenges faced and to proffer solutions, whereas since the inception of the project in the state, IFAD-VCDP supported over 4,023 farmers, who were engaged in different enterprises within the rice and cassava value chains.
The programme has tremendously made a positive impact on climate-smart infrastructures, agricultural equipment, distribution of agricultural inputs, capacity building and access to finance, and has transformed the lives of thousands of smallholder farmers, through job creation, an opportunity for women and youths, increase incomes of poor rural households and sustainably improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
Within the period under review, VCDP has constructed 6 modern rice and cassava processing centres, 10 market stores with each containing 10 shops, 6 market stalls with each containing 14 stalls and 2 shops, twenty-four solar-powered boreholes, one rice aggregation centre, 4 mini- bridge and culverts, 5 VIP toilets.
In order to enhance productivity, the VCDP has in whole supported farmers with different equipment, ranging from 49 tricycles, 21 power thrillers, 22 rice mini harvesters, 10 rice threshers, 193 irrigation pumps, 10 rice transplanting machines, 18 weighing scales, three communal fryers, three cassava grinding machines, four hydraulic pressers, two automated garri-frying machines, 6 rice-destoning machines, five reapers and one padding cleaner.
VCDP also provided support to 240 farmer organizations, with 35.74 metric tonnes of rice seeds, 13,900 cassava cutting, 2,571 litres of selective and non-selective herbicides, 267.6mt of NPK/Urea fertilizers, 10 solar pumps and panels to cultivate 1.077 hectares of land in the five implementing local governments of the state. These are to boost food production in the state.
It is worth noting that aside from building the capacity of smallholder farmers, VCDP has supported 1,065 beneficiaries to access loan facilities worth N276,500.00 million from different financial institutions, of note are the Development Exchange Centre, LAPO and Nasarawa Micro Finance Bank among others.
This wouldn’t have been possible without the unrelenting support of the state government, under the pragmatic stewardship of Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, who has demonstrated exceptional commitment towards ensuring that the investment made so far in the value chain development programme continues to yield visible results to the people of the state.
Hence, why Governor Sule was prompt in paying counterpart funds for the programme, totalling Three Hundred and Fifty-Two Naira (N352,000,000.), for the period under review, which has contributed to the overall success of FGN/IFAD-VCDP project in the state.
The team, however, visited Ashangwa Rice Innovation Platform, a rice processing hub in Lafia local government, where they were received amidst jubilation from the farmers for improving their knowledge to embrace technology in processing rice.
Aside from Olam Nigeria, a conglomerate with sophisticated equipment, the Ashangwa Rice Innovation Platform is the first small-holder processor centre, by the individual group in the state to own such machines for processing.
Dede Ekoue, the Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), however, commended Governor Abdullahi Sule for demonstrating commitment to investment in the value chain programme and promoting sustainable agricultural activities in the state.
Ekoue, who led a delegation on a courtesy call to Governor Abdullahi Sule at the Government House, noted that their visit to the state is a testament to the importance Governor Sule accorded the agricultural sub-sector, which is very much tied to an increase in food security and reduction in rural poverty.
She was happy that the investment of Governor Sule in the programme was not only exceptional but has continued to yield positive results to the people of Nasarawa State.
“So, we really thank you for giving us this privilege to meet with you. We are here for the 11th supervision programme for the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), which is co-financed by the Federal Government of Nigeria in various states that are IFAD members.
“We are also here to assess the progress made by the programme in Nasarawa State and this support mission covers the nine (9) states that are captured,” Ekoue explained.
She pointed out that, even though the IFAD team are not going to visit the rest of the states, they made it a duty to visit Nasarawa State, considering the significant impact that had been made in the state over time in the entrenchment of the various components of value chain initiatives, towards reducing rural poverty among the people.
“Through your commitment, we have been able to achieve an increase in agricultural production for farmers as more than 96%, and IFAD has touched more than 4,300 farmers’ lives in the state.
“It is not all about producing raw products but also about processing,” Ekoue observed.
The IFAD Country Director stressed that during their visit, they were privileged to visit various processing centres, across the state, and that, what they saw was deeply promoting sustainable agricultural activities, as women were seen transforming rice residues into something useful, by increasing their income.
She appreciated the governor for his financial contributions in support of the women groups and youths towards making them produce more in an attempt to safeguard food security initiatives in Nigeria.
The IFAD Country Director, then thanked the farmers who are the producers, those involved in processing, and those in the businesses of buying from farmers, as the overriding objective of the programme is to transform the economy while protecting the environment.
Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, was encouraged by what he saw on ground during the visit to Ashangwa Rice Innovation Platform.
Kush Peter Kukwi, the Director, Project Coordination Unit, who stood in for the Minister said, “the aim of the visit is to encourage the rural people to improve their businesses, and that is exactly what VCDP is pursuing.
“The rice processing mill is well on ground and we want to see sustainability in it. When the federal government is extended, more of such sustainable programmes will certainly be in place.
“The project is supposed to wind up this year, but we are hoping for the extension for an additional two years and if granted, we will pursue sustainability as a key into the project.”
Kukwi then harped on the need for states to scale up counterpart funding of the project as the value chain development programme had impacted and keep impacting households in various communities across the Country.
“I don’t think we have made a mistake by coming to Nasarawa State because the state is agrarian in nature and we have been seeing what is happening in the media, which is why we are here to see, take back to the ministry what is going on.
“It is our wish for sustainability that this programme can be upscaled to reach more people and to uplift the livelihood of our people,” Kush stated.
Fatima Kabiru Aliyu, the VCDP National Programme Coordinator, commended Nasarawa State Government for achieving the results they are seeing today due to the fact that they have been getting whatever they asked for in the course of carrying out their work from the state.
“We are pleased to see our beneficiaries take what we have done in the value chain development programme seriously. Henceforth, whether VCDP is there or not, these people will continue their businesses, which is the whole essence of VCDP,” she noted.
Fatima revealed that the programme in each area has a nursery section for women with babies, where they would be having fun as their mothers concentrate on their work as well as a solar-powered borehole, an aggregation centre and a market store.
“Our visit to the state is to see the extent of implementation of our activities. We have what is called supervision mission, where consultants from around the world and Nigeria will go around VCDP-implementing states to see what they have done in the preceding years. How far have we gone? what are the successes? What are the challenges and solutions? That is the whole essence of the supervision mission.
“And today, we come to Nasarawa State, we went to the field to see things that have been implemented. As you know, the main objective of the VCDP is to improve the livelihoods, and food security of smallholder farmers in our benefiting states.
“We went to Ashangwa Rice Innovation Centre, the rice processing hub, but not modern. We went there and put a modern processing centre with facilities: solar-powered boreholes, a creche for women with children, drying slap for drying padding, an aggregation centre for storage, and market stores. All are managed by the benefiting farmers.
“We give women and youths priority to improve their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, because before now, the farmers have nothing much to do, but today they are employers of labour and creating wealth.
“VCDP is just in nine states of the Federation and we are expected to reach 135,000 farmers across the states, and in these nine states, only 63 local governments VCDP presence is felt. In the original states, there are eight local governments, Nasarawa is one of the new states that came on board in 2021.
“We have five local governments each, 63 local government areas and 135,000 farmers, and we have profiled 150,000 farmers and we’ve reached and supported 121,000 farmers so far.”
Governor Abdullahi Sule, in a remark during the visit, appreciated Dede Ekoue, led the International Fund for Agricultural Development mission, who were in the state for their 11th supervision mission, aimed at ascertaining the level of progress made in the value chain development programme.
“I thank you sincerely for selecting Nasarawa State for this eleventh supervision mission of the Value Chain Development Programme.
“In this part of the Country, Benue prides itself as the food basket of the nation; but we in Nasarawa State are the ones producing the food for the basket,” he said.
He stressed how he was always happy to see women working hard in their farmers’ organisation (FO) initiatives across the participating local government areas of the state.
The governor, however, suggested the possibility of trying any other crop that does well in other local government areas of the state, in an attempt to fully unlock the food value chain development initiatives.
He assured IFAD visiting team that, his administration is committed to providing sustainable support to the programme.
Eunice Adgidzi, state Programme Coordinator of the VCDP, said: “The essence of the visit is to check, being an annual event, what we have been doing over the years, looking at the project objectives, are we meeting our mandates. Are we getting it right? What are areas for charging? What are the areas we need to do better? That is the essence and since our inception, in 2020, our presence was felt by our target farmers. It happens that, Nasarawa, Kogi and Enugu are the additional financing and what we have been doing so far is intervening in the areas of rice and cassava value chains. We are into production, processing and marketing of those produce.
“Our joy was when the rural people, the beneficiaries embrace new technologies, and that is what VCDP is preaching. We teach the farmers new technology and they are imbibing it. You could see improvement,” Adgidzi said.
The VCDP SPC maintained that the testimonies from the farmers are indications that their lives have become better. “And the mandate of IFAD is to reduce rural poverty.
She called on the state government to key into IFAD-VCDP initiatives to reach out to more farmers in rice and cassava farming, sesame and other crops.
Adgidzi hoped that should the programme be extended, they would also extend their activities to other localities.
“If the extension comes on board, it will also cascade in the state government mainstreaming VCDP initiatives as part of their policy. That is our prayer.”
IFAD is an international organisation the objective of which is to improve agricultural development and livelihoods in developing countries.
Its projects and programmes are carried out in remote and environmentally fragile locations, including least-developed communities and developing States.
The IFAD assists vulnerable groups, such as smallholder farmers, pastoralists, foresters, fishers and small-scale entrepreneurs in rural areas, by providing, among others, access to weather information, disaster preparedness, social learning and technology transfer that enables farmers to feed growing populations and increase the climate resilience of rural farming systems.
From the foregoing, it is true that IFAD-VCDP is working to get things right in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agriculture policy.
From the revolution in the sector within the period under review, it is safe to say that VCDP is working, adding value in rice and cassava production, improving the quality of processing, and Nasarawa is marching forward agriculturally, through the tenacity of the team FGN/IFAD-VCDP.
