Farmers from five local government areas in Enugu State have joined
their counterparts in Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba
states to benefit from the federal government efforts at fighting food
insecurity by promoting dry season farming in Nigeria. They were recently
presented with farm implements and seedlings worth N40 million. The
federal government initiative is jointly funded by Abuja and the
International Fund for Agricultural Development-Value Chain Development
Programme (IFAD-VCDP).
At an event held in Enugu, the state capital, the farmers got fertilizer, rice
seeds, chemicals, water pumps, solar panels, Knapsack sprayers,
weighing scales and transplanters. A similar exercise was said to have taken place in Kogi and Nasarawa States, who were also just joining in
the scheme. 15 other states had keyed into the programme from last
year.
Dr. Fatima Aliyu, the IFAD-VCDP National Coordinator, who commended
Enugu State Government for its active participation in the program,
implored Governor Peter Mbah’s administration to maintain the
momentum. She said, “The support came in two forms; the conventional
dry season farming and the additional dry season farming are to support
farmers especially those that had the devastating experience of the 2023
flood. The idea also is to intensify dry season farming.”
Dr. Edward Isiwu, the State Programme Coordinator, also echoed the
support by the state government which he said ensured prompt payment
of the counterpart fund. Beneficiaries are rice farmers in Aninri, Isiuzo,
and Nkanu East among the five LGAs involved.
While thanking IFAD for its prompt approval of the project, Patrick Ubru,
commissioner for agriculture and agro-indrustrialisation, who represented
Governor Mbah at the occasion said the administration was committed to
making Enugu the food basket of the country. He advised the
beneficiaries to live up to expectations.
However, he did not really have to worry about that. This is because the
farmers appear to be on familiar terrain. They, therefore, gave an
indication that they would make Mbah’s administration proud that he
made a wise investment with the counterpart fund for the programme.
What that means is that the government should be expecting a boost in
the production of food during the dry season and after. One of farmers,
Mrs. Ngozi Eze, expressed gratitude for the program’s consistent support,
even as she made it known that the farmers already have confidence in
their relationship with IFAD. For instance, she recalled that she recorded a
significant yield increase in her previous dry season farming because of
the support she and her colleagues received from the agency. She,
therefore, lauded IFAD, whose continuous support have helped farmers to
increase their yields, thus helping to reduce the rate of poverty in the rural
communities.
