Some smallholder farmers from Nasarawa state have applauded the Federal Government and International Fund for Agricultural Development, (IFAD), for using the Value Chain Development Program, (VCDP), to improve their livelihoods.
The Treasurer, Ozanawa Multipurpose Cooperative, Mercy Oganji, while speaking about VCDP, noted that they have experienced huge differences in their livelihood since they keyed into the program, and that it has helped them to increase their productivity as compared to what they used to get before.
According to her, members of the cooperative are 41 in number, cultivating rice and cassava under VCDP. She expressed confidence that if VCDP closes, they will continue with the knowledge acquired to boost their productivity and also train other smallholder farmers.
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“VCDP has really helped women who are members of our cooperative, and this has really impacted positively on our business as an organization.” Some of our members even harvested over 200 bags of rice. We sold a bag of rice for N20,000.
The National Coordinator, FG-IFAD, VCDP, Dr Fatima Aliyu, represented by the Knowledge Management and Communications Advisor, IFAD, Vera Onyeka-Onyilo, noted that about 7,749 rice and cassava farmers in five local government areas of Nasarawa State have been empowered with farm inputs and equipment.
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Aliyu explained that the five benefitting LGAs include Lafia, Doma, Wamba, Karu, and Nasarawa, adding that the 7,749 farmers were those who benefited from July 2020, when the program commenced in Nasarawa State, to June 2022, and that the project is expected to close by 2025.
She boasted that the project life indicator for the first phase of the program shows they are already meeting targets in Nasarawa State, while disclosing plans to upscale into three new local government areas in the state to enhance the transformation of the rural poor.
