700 Niger farmers benefit from victims’ fund

By Justina Asishana, Minna

The Victims Support Fund (VSF) has distributed farm inputs and equipment to 700 smallholder farmers affected by insecurity in Niger State.

The farmers were drawn from Shiroro and Rafi local government areas.

At the distribution of the agricultural inputs and implements to displaced farmers at the Gwada IDP camp in Shiroro Local Government Area, the Executive Director of the Victims Support Fund (VSF), Prof. Nana Tanko, said the organisation is intervening to support the affected farmers to help restore their livelihood and ensure that the insecurity does not affect food security.

According to her, the donation is under the directive of the VSF Chairman, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd) to help re-establish the agricultural and food production capacity of the farmers to boost rain-fed farming in crisis-affected communities.

The Chairman of Shiroro Local Government Area, Alhaji Suleiman Chukumba commended the Victim Support Fund for taking off the burden of meeting the needs of the IDPs as the majority of them are farmers who want to return to farming.

The Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Ibrahim Inga said majority of the farmers cannot afford fertiliser, adding that this is the reason the intervention is very important.

He said 350 farmers were beneficiaries in Shiroro while 350 are beneficiaries from Kagara.

He advised beneficiaries to ensure adequate utilisation of what is given to them to enable them to have a bountiful harvest.

Inga appealed to the IDPs to be more patient with the government as the government is doing its best to their security and working to ensure that they return to their normal way of life.

He also stated that to ensure proper monitoring, there would be a desk officer who would monitor, oversee, and identify the farms on which the inputs would be used.