Farmers in Nasarawa State have commended the Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), for supporting dry season farmers with funds and farming inputs that enabled them scale up rice production in the state.
The FGN in collaboration with IFAD had empowered several farmers’ organisations with inputs in five local government areas of the state, to tackle the issues of rice shortages, and to ensure food security across the state.
Accordingly, the team from FGN, IFAD-VCDP and the state Ministry of Agriculture, had on Thursday led other stakeholders on an assessment visit to a Dry Season Rice Farmlands in the Lower Benue Phase one in Doma local government area.
The team, during their visit also inspected the ongoing construction of Doma Rice Aggregation Center, under the Alekuwole Esewoga Cooperative Society, aimed at enhancing the activities of small holder farmers to boost food production.
Yakubu Abubakar, chairman of the Alekuwole Esewoga Cooperative Society, told Journalists shortly after the field visit, that before the coming of VCDP to the state, there were complaints of rice shortage among farmer groups in the area.
“But the regular support from the programme had completely changed the narrative as farmers now have more than enough rice to eat and sell during the rainy and dry seasons.
“Presently, members of my group are operating in five hectares of land here in Doma. We now have enough rice both during the rainy and dry seasons. All these could not have been possible if not for the FGN/IFAD Value Chain Development Programme, which has constantly given us the needed support to succeed.
“We are grateful for the support thus far, and we want to assure them that, on our own part as farmers in the five benefiting VCDP local governments, we will continue to do our best to ensure that we have enough rice that will be able to serve the entire residents of the state.”
Abubakar, therefore expressed gratitude to the FGN/IFAD Value Chain Development Programme for the empowerment, which had helped in increasing their yields.
Eunice Adgidzi, the State Project Coordinator of the FGN/IFAD-Value Chain Development Programme, said the gesture was aimed at ensuring that Rice farmers are able to boost their capacities and cultivate enough food for the increasing population in the state.
Adgidzi explained that, apart from Doma, the dry season farmers in Lafia, Wamba, Nasarawa and Karu also received support from the programme, which aimed at ensuring food security in the state.
The SPC added, “today, we brought stakeholders to see what we are doing. Yes, we interface with farmers regularly but it is not enough. For us to succeed, we need the stakeholder’s support, so this is an opportunity for them to see what we have been doing in the state.
“Here in Lower Benue phase one of Doma, we have approximately 8 to 10 hectares of Rice farms being cultivated, and we have farmers that are in other locations doing the dry season farming.
“It is in line with ensuring food security in the state, that was why we also recently built a modern Rice Aggregation Center inside the Doma market, to facilitate the collection and processing of rice in the area.
“Food security is an important issue, and as we can see, there are still enough lands to be cultivated. So, we want more persons, especially the youths to come and join us in our farming activities, so that together, we will work towards tackling hunger in the state.”
Umaru Tanko-Tunga, the State Commissioner of Agriculture, while commending the FG and IFAD for supporting the dry season rice farmers, called on the benefiting farmer organisations not to relent in their quest of ensuring food sufficiency in the state.
Tanko-Tunga further assured of the state government’s resolve to continue to give the needed support to the FG and IFAD in order to ensure the success of the Value Chain Development Programme in the state.
