To alleviate the impact of floods on farmers and make it possible for them to switch to farming during the dry season, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has announced that it will provide financial assistance to flood-affected farmers in nine states across Nigeria in the amount of $1.7 million before the close of the year. According to the organization, the intervention will also ensure an increase in their income and productivity and guarantee that there is always enough food to attain food security.
The IFAD Country Director, Dede Ekoue, recently made these remarks at the Mid Term Review (MTR) Mission Stakeholders Wrap-Up Workshop of the Federal Government/IFAD-Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) held in Abuja. Ekoue, who estimated the 2022 flood recovery output at $1.7 million, further said the organization had allocated $600,000 to farmers in certain VCDP-benefitting states. For the dry period farming in Enugu, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Anambra state, she asserts that the fund distribution in support of VCDP beneficiaries has so far begun.
IFAD-VCDP and the government provide farmers with the needed facilities.
According to Dr. Fatima Aliyu, the IFAD-VCDP National Programme coordinator, as part of the intervention, the government and the organization will provide each of the more than 2,000 focused farmers with 40kg of seed, two bags of Urea and four bags of NPK. She added that farmers would receive training programs, technical assistance, two litres of herbicides, and water pumps for every rehabilitated hectare of farmland. They will also learn good agronomic practices for dry-season crop cultivation. Moreover, more will be done for a bumper yield.
Speaking further, Dr. Peter Kush, who is the Deputy Director of the Programme Coordinating Unit for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, expressed his dismay at the devastation that the flood caused for the farmers. During the period of the study, it was discovered that the vast majority of the program farmlands had been wiped off by the flood. Additionally, he stated that several of the VCDP facilities had been submerged, along with many other things.
The MTR initiative is set to enhance farmers’ productivity.
Dr. Aisha Omar, Director of the International Economic Relations Department in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, explained that the goal of the MTR was to analyze the project’s performance and discover the problems that were delaying execution, and identify the relevancy of various components and activities in light of the present conditions. She stated that this would make it possible for the organizations involved to determine whether or not it is necessary to reorganize the project.
In order to accomplish the project growth targets and guarantee cost-effectiveness in the facilities acquired, Omar reaffirmed the department’s commitment to collaborating with partners and project team members at the State and Federal levels. She added her team is always available to support the implementation unit on issues. Omar advised project employees from partner states as well as the federal level to be committed to project implementation and abide by the fund’s procuring and finance procedures to avoid ineligible spending.
Farmers’ yield and marketing output need improvement.
Lastly, Ekoue, the IFAD Country Director, stated that the $1.7 million contribution was made in response to the favor of farmers encountered in the MTR mission in all of the regions that benefited from the VCDP. During her adventures, she spoke with farmers and emphasized two things: the importance of adapting to new circumstances in order to help with recovery and the need to keep working on improving marketing, especially for cassava. They observed that while rice producers have improved considerably, there are still more prospects for cassava farmers to fortify the market side of their industry.
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