TechnoServe says it is working in four states to assist tomato and rice farmers with inputs such as fertiliser and improved seed varieties so as to boost their yield.
The Country Director of TechnoServe, Mr Larry Umunna, said this on Thursday, while speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of the 2017 Nigerian Women in Agribusiness Stakeholders’ Dialogue, organised by Synergos Nigeria and TechnoServe.
He said that TechnoServe was executing the project in Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Plateau states, in partnership with Synergos Nigeria.
According to him, the main objective of the project is to boost the economic well-being of smallholder tomato and rice farmers in order to increase their income.
“The project will further increase their income with training, access to finance and business development opportunities.
“On average, tomato and rice farmers will increase their average income, provided there are no negative extraneous factors.
“We are targeting to engage 3,000 farmers within the farming communities and at least, one financial institution offering financial services and provide market linkages with major produce buyers.
“TechnoServe interventions have also helped the maize, cashew, cassava, soy and poultry value chains across the country, while increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers and strengthening market linkages,’’ he said.
Besides, Umunna said that TechnoServe had been providing poverty alleviation strategies, while offering market solutions to challenges facing crop production, as part of efforts to tackle the menace of poverty.
“We just concluded a cashew livelihood project, which has been on in the last four years in Kwara, Kogi and Oyo states. Under the project, we worked with 10,000 farmers and 42 per cent of them are women
“The project has increased their productivity and income by roughly 200 per cent. We are also involved in a cassava project,’’ he said.
However, Umunna called for improved data in efforts to actualise the policy thrusts of the Federal Government’s agricultural policy.
“We need to take the issue of data very seriously because without good data, we cannot plan well. We need credible, factual and accessible data for policymaking.
“Such data become useful for government to develop policies and investment plans. Such data become useful to private sector companies in order to make serious business decisions.
“The data will also enable donor agencies, NGOs, development partners to know which the areas or sectors that need their assistance.
“There is report on Agricultural Investment Plan that has been done in three states. In order to carry out the task, we needed to collect data and search for data but we realised that data is a major issue in the country.
“The data issue is not restricted to the agriculture sector alone; it is a problem that affects all facets of our economy. Honestly, we need to take the issue of data very seriously,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Mr Ajadi Adewale, the Country Director of Synergos Nigeria said that women constituted between 70 and 80 per cent of the country’s labour force, adding, however, that country was not fully utilising the economic potential of women.
“I pleaded with the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh to change the lives of women in agriculture and now, most of the ministry’s investments are geared towards fulfilling my request.
“Nigeria will never be able to reach its potential if women in agriculture are not supported and that is what we are trying to do here.
“We are trying to build the foundation of this country; it is going to be important in our engagements with each other and we are using this opportunity to cement the foundation,’’ he added.
Adewale said that Synergos was the first organisation to process cassava peels into livestock feeds, adding that the venture would aid efforts to address the incessant herdsmen-farmers clashes across the country.
“The project will also reduce waste and tension among farmers, while generating additional income for women farmers in particular. It is also a way of creating employment for women.
On her part, Ms. Surita Sandosham, Vice-President (Programmes) of Synergos, said that the organisation was supporting the production of staple crops in Benue, Kaduna and Kogi states.
She said that the venture was aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers.
“We are looking at ways of promoting gender-sensitive agriculture and boosting productivity. We have done this in the three states and we are thinking of how to do it in other states.
“In terms of creating marketing strategies, we have worked on value chains development projects as to crops like rice, while connecting about 5000 smallholder farmers.
