FCT Fadama CARES empowers 9,170 farmers with essential farming inputs

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has distributed agricultural inputs as grants to 9,170 farmers under the FCT Fadama CARES program to boost food production in the nation’s capital.

Mariya Mahmoud, the FCT Minister of State, announced the development during the distribution of grants to the fourth batch of 6,020 beneficiaries in Gwagwalada.

The distributed inputs included fertilizers, seeds, agrochemicals, sprayers, and personal protective equipment for crop farmers.

Poultry farmers received day-old chicks and feed, while fish farmers were provided with juvenile fish and feed. Livestock farmers were given goats, and grinding machines were distributed to women involved in processing agricultural products.

Mahmoud noted that the third phase, which took place in December 2023, benefited 3,150 farmers, primarily supporting dry-season farming. In total, the program has reached 9,170 farmers within one year, representing a 216% increase compared to the 4,233 beneficiaries reached in the two years before the Tinubu administration.

She emphasized that the FCT Fadama CARES initiative, supported by the World Bank’s Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES), aims to strengthen food security and sustain the food supply chain in the FCT. It focuses on improving the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable populations involved in agricultural value chains, with particular attention to women and unemployed youth.

The minister hailed the program as a reflection of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes sustainable food production. She also highlighted the FCT administration, led by Minister Nyesom Wike, for allocating significant resources to agriculture, viewing it as essential for poverty reduction and improved livelihoods for vulnerable agricultural households.

Additionally, Mahmoud revealed that the FCTA’s Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat is leveraging the Fadama CARES program to provide starter packs to 94 trainees from the FCT-Leventis Foundation School of Agriculture, Yaba, for the years 2022 and 2023. This forms part of the youth empowerment component of the program, aimed at enabling trainees to apply their acquired skills.

Lawan Geidam, the Mandate Secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, explained that the 6,020 beneficiaries in the fourth batch were selected from 82 farming community associations across the six area councils of the FCT.

He listed the inputs distributed, which included 12,436 bags of NPK fertilizer, 6,218 bags of Urea fertilizer, 18,654 litres of agrochemicals, and 43,526 kg of assorted seeds under Disbursement Linked Indicator (DLI) 2.1. Poultry farmers received 55,400 day-old chicks and 7,756 bags of feed, while 81,800 juvenile catfish and 2,045 bags of fish feed were given to fish farmers.

Under DLI 2.3, 3,690 goats were distributed along with 3,212 sets of farm assets such as sprayers, protective equipment, and water pumps. Additionally, 1,006 grinding machines and 22 units of multipurpose threshers were handed out, while water and sanitation facilities were provided in 10 wet markets across the six area councils.