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Tag: FADAMA

  • FADAMA: Fed Govt reviews Northeast livelihoods support

    As from today, the Federal Government, through the FDAMA Additional Financing (AF) II under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, will begin a review of the Food Security and Livelihood Support Project of the six northeast states ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.

    The Federal Government, in 2016, secured additional financing loan from the World Bank, to address food scarcity, job loss, damaged infrastructure, water shortages, among others, in the six affected states.

    According to the Project Desk Officer for FADAMA AF II, Ibrahim Alkali, the project has been “catering for agricultural and livelihood restoration needs of families whose livelihood has been devastated by conflicts as identified by the Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) prepared by the Government of Nigeria with support from the World Bank in the agriculture sector”.

    He added: “The Federal Government, in conjunction with the states and local government areas in the Northeast, has been  providing support for restoration of the agricultural production activities through provision of starter packages to affected households, including required agricultural inputs and on-farm and post-harvest productive assets, to support economic opportunities with specific focus on women and youth.

    “It also finances the related advisory and extension services, including provision of food assistance, to cope with the lean period while awaiting the first harvest, rehabilitation and investment on rural infrastructure like markets, post-harvest equipment, storage facilities including aggregation centres, production pens and houses for livestock, rural network of roads.”

  • 350 entrepreneurs get Fadama-supported starter packs

    THE Fadama III Additional Financing (AF) has empowered 350 entrepreneurs with starter packs in Niger State.

    The State Programme Coordinator (SPC), Dr Aliyu Kutuji, who made this known in Abuja,  said 350 beneficiaries were given starter packs worth N100,000 each, totalling N35 million.

    According to him, the programme  has achieved far more than its objectives, with the main objective being to increase the income of rural farmers, food and job creation.

    He revealed that the target was initially to empower about 300 youths and women, but was able to assist 350 entrepreneurs eventually.

    He said: “We gave them two-week training in some of the higher institutions in the state and we gave them starter pack of N100, 000 each, which is about N35 million.

    “The beneficiaries are doing well in their respective businesses and most of them will showcase their products in the forthcoming Niger Fadama Trade Fair. We are also inviting about 2, 000 farmers in the state to come with their products too.”

    On the essence of the trade fair, Kutuji said it was to showcase what Fadama has been doing in the state since the beginning of this administration. He said the governor and officials from the Fadama national will also be present.

    Kutuji added that Fadama’s target was to increase the income of 75 per cent beneficiaries by 40 per cent at end of the programme.

    “We still have a year plus for the programme, which means we will still achieve more before December 2019, he said, adding that in the area of food production, which is rice and sorghum, it hopes to increase farmers’ output by 40 per cent at end of the programme.’’

    At present, the programme has achieved more than 50 per cent, with Kutuji, noting that prior to the programme, farmers were realising 1.5 to 2 tonnes of rice/sorghum per hectare, but right now they are realising five to six tonnes per hectare.

    The coordinator further said Fadama had taken over about five out of 17 irrigation schemes in the state covering 600 hectares to enable farmers to produce all round the year.

    He also stated that they constructed almost 35 kilometres of surface roads and 500 kilometres of roads under common user facility.

    He said: “We have six aggregation centres for our farmers to store their farm output for off-takers to buy and three agricultural hiring equipment centres, one in each zone.

    “The programme also procured 10 tractors for Fadama Federation Association to assist our farmers to mechanise. We were able to assist our farmers with 150 power tillers in collaboration with the Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs).’’

    Kutuji commended the government for giving Fadama freehand to run the project with the outline of the World Bank.

    He also commended the government for its ability to pay counterpart fund to support the project.

    The state Ministry of Agriculture also assisted Fadama Federation Association with six tractors and three rice thrashers at subsidised rates.

    It would be recalled that Niger State is one of the six Fadama core states partaking in rice and sorghum value chain programme.

     

  • FADAMA distributes farm input to 880 in Gombe

    The FADAMA III Additional Financing (AFII) Programme has distributed farm input to 880 households of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and their host communities in Gombe for the cropping season.

    The Communication Officer of FADAMA III (AFII) Programme, Malam Yakubu Mohammed,  who spoke in Gombe, said the farm input included insecticides, fertilisers and improved seed varieties.

    He said the farm input were distributed across the 11 local government areas, adding that aim of the exercise to boost food production.

    “We distributed the farm input to the IDPs because we want them to go back to the farm, in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy to encourage food production and reduce the people’s dependence on imported food,” he said.

    Mohammed said the programme also supported 120 IDPs who engaged in dry-season rice cultivation, adding that most of the beneficiaries had harvested their paddy.

     

  • Lagos will support FADAMA

    The Lagos State government yesterday in Lagos reassured the Federated FADAMA Community Association of its unwavering support.

    Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Oliyiwole Onasanya, who represented the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode,  gave the assurance during the inauguration of the newly elected executive of the Lagos State Federated FADAMA Community Association (FFCA) Executive Committee.

    He noted that the FFCA was conceived and formed as sustainability strategy of the FADAMA III project to coordinate the affairs of smaller groups for their common interest on the basis of cooperation and mutual socio-economic benefits, adding that it was also to provide a common front for addressing the numerous challenges facing famers in the state.

    Mrs. Ambode said the project has invested in a number of capital intensive agricultural infrastructure to be managed and maintained by FFCA in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders.

    She said: “Some of the projects include Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise Center with four tractors and full compliments of equipment, Paddy Aggregation Center, Construction of Pivot irrigation facility on 20 hectares of land, Farm Assess Roads to ease movement of input and output from farms,  and  market development infrastructure, such as FADAMA Food Market which is currently going on in different markets in the state.”

    In his remarks, the newly inaugurated President of FFCA,  Danre Olufemi said  the association with the support of the state government will not relent in its efforts in  assuring food security.

  • Niger rice cuts imports, says FADAMA

    Niger State has contributed to the reduction of rice imports, the National Fadama Co-ordination Office has said.

    Nigeria has been listed among the 16 top producers of rice with its local production valued at N684 billion ($1.9 billion).

    Niger State produced 545,700 metric tonnes (MT) of rice to top the national production output for last year’s wet season.

    The leader of the Technical Assistance Mission to the state,  Dr. Samuel Alabi, who spoke during a visit to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development, Haruna Nuhu Dukku, in Minna, said the quantity of rice produced in the state with the contribution of the state Fadama Co-ordination Office during the wet and dry seasons had greatly increased.

    Alabi praised the state Fadama Co-ordination Office, saying  the state added value to what Fadama is achieving nationally as the office have become a focus laboratory where experience meet with result delivery.

    “Niger State Coordination Office has become a learning centre where opportunity meets experience and experience meets with result delivery. The  state has become Fadama learning centre. We are indebted to Niger State for adding colour to the performance of the national office,’’Alabi said.

    Dukku assured Fadama of the state support of its programme as it has proved to be of immense benefit to the people, especially in the rural areas.

  • Fadama office trains 3,510 farmers in FCT

    Alhaji Abdullahi Salisu, the Coordinator, FCT Fadama III Additional Financing Project Office, has trained 3,510 farmers across FCT through its capacity building component.

    Salisu said this on Wednesday in Gwagwalada at the inauguration of distribution of farm inputs to production groups in FCT for the 2018 farming season.

    He said the office had facilitated the implementation of 133 business plans out of the 333 prepared by production groups along three value chains, cassava, Rice and Sorghum.

    The Coordinator said the office had also provided funding support as well as technical backstopping and mentoring to Fogbe Production Cluster to encourage community-based rice seed production.

    According to him, under this support, two production groups were able to cultivate 20 hectares of Faro 44 Foundation Seed under the supervision of the National Seed Council.

    “I am indeed excited that the Faro 44 Rice Foundation Seed we are distributing to our farmers today is a product of the Fogbe Community-Based Rice Seed Production Project,” he said.

    He said the objective of Fadama III Additional Financing Project was to move farmers from subsistence to commercial production through ramping up of production across three selected staple crops supported by the project.

    Salisu said the attainment of commercial farming was anchored on deployment as well as adoption of modern agricultural technologies and best practices.

    He said the FCT Fadama III Additional Financing Office had facilitated the acquisition of quality inputs at the right time and at competitive prices to enable farmers make necessary preparations in good time.

    In his remark, Mr Nzekwe IfeanyiChukwu, Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA ) said the event was a millstone towards the development of agriculture in the FCT.

    He commended the Fadama III Additional Financing Project in the FCT for its achievements in capacity building for farmers and distribution of inputs.

    Ifeanyichukwu pledged the commitment of the FCTA to advance agriculture in the FCT, adding that the administration was committed towards the advancement of agriculture.

    “This administration is working tirelessly towards ensuring the provision of farm inputs, linkages to sources of credit and markets as well as the provision of enabling environment for farmers in the FCT,” he said.

    He commended the National Fadama Coordination Office ( NFCO ) for the Fadama Graduate Unemployed Youth and Women Agroprenuer Support (Fadama GUYS) Scheme initiative.

    He said the initiative would create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed graduate youths in the country.

    He, therefore, called on the NFCO to expedite action in the disbursement of funds to the selected beneficiaries to ensure timely preparations for the 2018 cropping season.

    NAN

  • Fadama gets new officers

    Members of the Fadama Federated Community Association, Lagos State on Thursday elected new officers to run the association.

    At the end of an election held at the Farm Service Centre in Oko Oba, Mr Dare Ogunbanjo was elected as the new president of the association.

    Others elected are:  Vice President 1, Yussu Najim; Treasurer, Folasade Fakayejo; Social Sceretary, Ibarahim Onabanjo, Public Relations Officer(PRO), Benjamen Olasore and General Scertary, O.Ojeyemi, among others.

    Speaking earlier, the State Project Coordinator of Fadama, Mr Jonathan Obayemi said the project has changed the lives of farmers in the state in the last one decade of its existence.

    He said the community association is a major stakeholder in the success of the project in the state , urging the members to eschew indiscipline in the their conduct as beneficiaries of the project.

    He stated that his agency would continue to partner with and support farmers in a bid to enhance their lives and increase food production in the state.

  • Fadama builds N42m centres to prevent loss

    The Niger State Fadama Project Coordinator, Aliyu UsmanKutigi, an engineer, said the state coordination office has constructed six aggregation centres to prevent post food harvest loss for N42 million.

    Speaking in Minna during a workshop on Probity and Accountability for Desk Officers and Facilitators of Fadama in the state, Kutigi said the aggregation centres which were constructed at Badeggi, Katcha, Kutigi, Izom, Sabon Ramu and Sabon Ushe  will enable farmers store farm produce with minimal farm produce getting spoilt.

    The Fadama Project Coordinator said the workshop would enable the participants contribute their quota to the state and Federal Government crusade against corruption.

    “Fadama 111 AF aims to train its staff so that it will in no small measure eradicate or reduce corruption in agricultural sector which is the backbone of the nation’s economy,” he said.

    He stressed the need to imbibe the culture of attitudinal change in all administrations.

    The Lead Resource Person,  Hon Danladi Umar Abdulhameed in his presentation, said corruption cuts across all sectors as everybody or group in the society is to blame.

    He recommended reward for the hardworking and honesty and punishment of perpetrators of corrupt practices.

    He added that government needed to strenghten agriculture, education, health and other critical sectors in order to chase poverty, hunger, ignorance and diseases out of the country.

  • Engage in agric, FADAMA coordinator urges youths

    The FADAMA Coordinator in Anambra State, Mr Chukwuka Egbueh, has called on the youth to engage in farming to support the government’s efforts to develop the agricultural sector.

    Egbueh made the call in an interview in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

    He stressed that the government had made a lot of investments to overhaul and develop the sector.

    “Nigeria did well in agriculture in the First Republic, but I can tell you that at no time has the sector received more financial support from the government than now.

    “However, more efforts should be made to educate and mobilise our youths to develop a positive mindset towards agriculture. The youthww should also be sensitised to fully appreciate the dignity of labour,’’ he said.

    Egbueh noted that a major challenge facing efforts to develop the agricultural sector was the growing population of ageing farmers.

    He, therefore, said that pragmatic efforts should be made to encourage the youth to take up farming as their profession.

    “Youths should be encouraged to fill the gaps being created by our ageing farmers.

    “Farming is a rewarding and lucrative profession; that is why the youth should be encouraged to engage in crop growing.

    “However, there are lots of incentives by governments, in form of grants and loans, to encourage serious youths to go into farming,’’ he added.

     

  • FADAMA III spends N197m on irrigation dam in Niger

    FADAMA III spends N197m on irrigation dam in Niger

    The FADAMA III Additional Financing in Niger, on Monday, said it had spent N197 million on the rehabilitation of irrigation dam in Edozhigi community of Gbako Local Government Area of the state.

    Alhaji Baba Shaba, the Communication Officer of FADAMA III in Niger, made this disclosure in an interview in Minna.

    He explained that the entire irrigation scheme was 870 hectares of land, consisting of primary and secondary canals and only 140 hectares had been rehabilitated.

    Shaba said that the irrigation scheme would assist farmers in the area to cultivate about 20 hactares of rice for dry season farming before the end of January.

    Read also: Banks lend N1.06b to farmers in six months

    He advised the farmers in the areas to take advantage of the irrigation dam to improve on dry season farming, so as to have all year round harvest of rice in the state.

    Shaba added that FADAMA III also spent three million naira to purchase milling and stoner engine for women in Edozhigi, as part of the efforts to empower them to become self-reliant.

    He said that the milling and stoner engine would be used to add value to their farm produce and process them before selling in the market.

    NAN