The Vice-President of the Islamic Development Bank Dr Mansur Mukhtar has praised the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP) for meeting the expectations of the Islamic Bank, which is the sponsor of KSADP, whose objective is to reduce poverty by strengthening food security in the land.
Mukhtar gave the commendation when he visited the office of Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project in Kano City.
He said his unscheduled visit, which was his first to the project office, was to enable him to familiarise with its activities, which focus on improving crop production and enhancing livestock productivity in Kano State.
Funded by the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihood Funds (LLF), the KSADP’s overall objective is to contribute to reduction of poverty and strengthening food and nutrition security in the state.
“This will be achieved by developing agro-pastoral production systems and targeting mainly smallholder farmers and pastoralists as well as crucial actors in the value chain of agro-pastoralism. These include agricultural produce processors, marketers, input suppliers, and financial institutions,” Mukhtar said.
The Vice-President said: “The bank has been monitoring your (Kano’s) performance and your example has been showcased a number of times during our meetings with the LLF.
“I am surprised that the Project Management Unit is working almost full house. I am impressed that you are working very hard to meet the bank’s expectations.
“I am here to see how you work. I’m pleased that you are taking your work seriously. From the reports we have received so far, your project is moving on well.”
While urging the project management unit to maintain the work culture, Dr Mukhtar assured them of the bank’s determination to address their challenges, if any, to ensure the project’s continuous success.
Project Coordinator of Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project, Ibrahim Garba Muhammad said the visit would give impetus to drive the project.
In a statement by the Project Communication Specialist, Ameen Yassar Muhammad added that the “Kano project is making steady progress to impact the lives of farmers and pastoralists in the state, in line with the IsDB/LLF theory of change.”
The coordinator said he was, however, concerned that inflation is affecting the awards of projects’ contract, adding that this and the issue of co-financing needed to be addressed by the bank, so as not to impede the pace of the overall project delivery.