FG, IFAD distribute farm inputs to cassava, rice farmers in Nasarawa
Amina Mohammed, Lafia
The Federal Government in collaboration with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has begun the distribution of farm inputs to 1, 050 Cassava and Rice farmers in Nasarawa State.
The distribution of the inputs to the farmers for the 2021 wet season was under the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).
Speaking at the distribution exercise, State Programme Coordinator, VCDP, Mrs. Eunice Adgidzi, said the farmers were drawn from 64 farmers’ organizations from Lafia, Doma, Wamba, Nasarawa, and Karu Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
She listed the items distributed to include 15, 050 kgs of improved rice seeds, 4, 650 bundles of cassava cuttings, 788 liters of selective and non-selective herbicides, 78,800kg of NPK fertilizer, and 30,100 kg of urea fertilizer.
The coordinator said that the VCDP program started in July 2020 in Nasarawa State with the mandate of improving the production, processing, and marketing of rice and cassava.
She added that this is the second time they were distributing inputs to farmers in the state since the program commenced in July 2020.
She explained that since inception, VCDP had been working assiduously to fulfill their mandate.
“In December 2020, we distributed similar inputs to nine farmers’ organizations in Lafia and Doma LGAs to support dry season farming.
“That supports yielded mind-blowing result following massive yield from the dry season farmers in the benefiting LGAs,” the coordinator said.
She further explained that Afakpo Multipurpose Cooperative Society, one of the groups that benefited from their inputs in 2020 harvested 7.5 metric tons of rice per hectare above the international standard of 4.5 metric tons.
She, therefore, enjoined the beneficiaries and other stakeholders to join hands with the government to ensure that Nasarawa State surpasses global standards in the production of rice and cassava.
Meanwhile, Nasarawa State Commissioner for Agriculture and Water Resources, prof. Alana Otaki commended FG and IFAD for the program which was aimed at ensuring food sufficiency.
The commissioner said that the Governor Abdullahi Sule-led administration had given agriculture a strategic placement to transform the state.
He added that the state had keyed into the FG agricultural programs and invested a lot in the sector to meet the global standard in agriculture for self-sufficiency in food production.
Also speaking, Programme Manager, Nasarawa Agricultural Development Programme Mr. Emmanuel Alanana, called on the farmers to take advantage of the initiative to maximize their potential in food production.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Gini Yohana, a farmer, expressed gratitude to the FG and IFAD for the gesture which he said would go a long way in boosting food production in the state.
He, however, appealed for the extension of the program to the other LGAs in the state for more farmers to benefit.
The farmers also appealed to Nasarawa State Government to support farmers’ organizations with tractors and other farm inputs.
