Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), in collaboration with Nestle will be funding a project worth $400, 000 to support small holders farmers into rice production in Nasarawa State.
AGRA, founded by the former Secretary General of the United Nation, Kofi Anan, is determined to partner Nasarawa State to transform and boost agriculture and food sustainability in the state.
Rufus Idris, the country director of AGRA in Nigeria, made this known when he led top members of the organization on a courtesy visit to Governor Abdullahi Sule in Abuja.
Some of the issues discussed during the visit borders on climate change and it impacts on farmers, inclusivity of youths and women and support to involve in agriculture activities, access to finance and markets, seeds system and quality.
Other areas of consideration for partnership included policy issues toward assisting the government to transform agriculture and food system in the state.
According to the Country Director, AGRA “will equally undertake another project jointly funded with Nestlé with a $400, 000 grant, in order to support small holder farmers to produce to meet the quality requirements of Nestle”.
He explained that, through this partnership, Nestlé is committed to buying farm produce from farmers benefiting from the intervention.
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Idris further announced that, AGRA has a new investment for women and youths across the state.
“We have been to the state and we have seen a lot of women processors processing rice and the likes, which we would also like to support to help them upgrade and scale up their production, with a $370, 000 grant to support that effort,” he stated.
Idris said AGRA is currently partnering with Nasarawa State to see how the organization can support the Governor’s efforts already to see how to transform the agricultural space, to make it more inclusive and to ultimately transform the food system in Nasarawa State.
“We are also seeing how we can bring other partners that can support the various areas and the value chain for the overall transformation that we would like to see in that state,” he said.
According to Idris, having monitored agricultural activities across the country, Nasarawa State was selected to join Kaduna and Niger states, because of the strong leadership being provided by Governor Sule.
“We looked at states in Nigeria where we see strong leadership and we see a lot of momentum where we can leverage to transform agricultural system in the country and food system.
“Nasarawa State has come on top of our radar and we have been engaging NASIDA and also the Permanent Secretary. Ministry of Agriculture and decided that, we have to come into Nasarawa fully like how we have done in other states,” he said.
Governor Abdullahi Sule expressed satisfaction that m, an organization such as AGRA has understood the inroads being made by his administration in the agricultural sector and is coming to partner with the state government.
“I’m so happy that you understood what we are doing on ground. You identified some of these women who are processing in the various zones that we kept supporting them.
“We also supported them under the AUDA-NEPAD programme. The World Bank supported them. So also the Federal Government under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture,” he said.
The Governor said his administration will continue to promote local farmers financially and otherwise, adding that, rice seedlings from the state-own farm in Jangwa was distributed to local government chairmen in order for them to key into the initiative.
“I want to commend you and thank you for identifying Nasarawa State after Kaduna and Niger for a state that you will visit when it comes to agriculture. We are very serious about agriculture, both at the state level and the general population,” he stated.
Earlier, the Managing Director/CEO of Nasarawa State Investment Development Agency (NASIDA), Ibrahim Abdullahi, said AGRA is in the state to partner with the state to offer technical assistance to develop the state’s agricultural policy.
“They have also announced some various interventions in partnership with Nestlé to some investment along value chain development in Nasarawa State.
“The idea in that kind of initiative is that farmers are able to produce improved quality of products that Nestlé wants to uptake within the state. Most importantly, they want to announce the grant offered to Nasarawa State to help develop these policies,” he said.
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