Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Federal Government has distributed over N400 million worth of agro-inputs and equipment to rural farmers in Enugu State.
The donations were made in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development-Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD-VCDP).
The items distributed included 13 tricycles, three small paddy rice steam parboiled, and five destoners.
Also donated were two rice hauler, three solar dryer, 20 energy efficient cooking stoves, 10 cassava fufu pounding machine, 10 nutrient dense equipment and 59 digital weighing scales.
Others are 50 POS equipment, 20 tablets palmtop, 10 personal protective equipment, 30 water pump, 20 seed planters,and 50 knapsack sprayers.
There was also four power tillers, 10 solar powered irrigation water pump, five cassava harvesters, seven cassava peeling machine, seven cassava sieving machines and many others.
Speaking during the distribution, the National Programme Coordinator, IFAD-VCDP, Dr Fatima Aliyu, said that she was excited with what Enugu State was doing by supporting rural farmers through VCDP.
Aliyu was represented by the Programme’s National Human Resources Advisory, Mr Gidado Bello.
She said that VCDP Enugu had made remarkable achievements since 2022, adding that by its records, Enugu State VCDP was the fastest in achieving IFAD project in Nigeria.
She said, “My purpose of coming here today is to thank Gov. Peter Mbah for the kind of support and encouragement he is giving to VCDP in Enugu State since assumption of office.
“They just started three years and they have overtaken those they met and they are doing wonderfully well. This is due to support from the government and management of the programme office in Enugu.”
Aliyu said that as a development project, VCDP was unique in many ways as it targeted the poorest of the poor as well as engaged in verifiable and sustainable projects.
The Governor of Enugu State, Mr Peter Mbah, commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and IFAD-VCDP for the synergy they have had with the state.
Mbah said that his administration identified education and agriculture as critical sectors that needed huge investment.
The governor was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Prof. Sam Ugwu.
He said that between 2023 and 2024, the state had witnessed a lot of agro-input distribution to farmers.
He, however, appealed to the beneficiaries not to sell the inputs and equipment given to then but to make judicious use of them to achieve the purpose it was initiated.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Mr Patrick Ubru, said that the input distribution was in fulfilment of Mbah’s campaign promise to invest in agriculture.
According to him, Enugu State is experiencing a revolution and rebirth in agricultural sector.
Earlier, the State Programme Coordinator, Dr Edward Isiwu, said that VCDP was one of the IFAD Assisted Agricultural and Rural Development Projects in Nigeria operating in nine states.
He said that Enugu became a beneficiary in 2020 and currently working in five Local Government Areas of Aninri, Enugu East, Isiuzo, Nkanu East and Udenu.
Isiwu said that the programme had supported over 8,000 farmers including women and youths with agro-inputs, processing and production equipment to enhance their productivity.
He said that beneficiaries were selected through a clear process.
“Beneficiaries must be registered members of a cooperative working with IFAD-VCDP, Enugu State, come from Enugu State and within the five benefitting Council Areas.
“The person must be an active participating member in all that we do, be a producer of rice or cassava, its processor or marketer of rice or cassava value chain.
“Again, IFAD pays 70 per cent of inputs given to them while the beneficiaries made contribution of 30 per cent. This is to ensure they have the ownership and use it very well,” he said.
According to him, with the exception of the POS that we give, the programme is free for people with disability.
“What we do is that we take this farm inputs to their homes and we have distributed over 30 water pumps for them, built-one-stop shop were we stock them with these inputs.
“All these were made possible because of the unflinching support of Gov. Peter Mbah, who paid three years backlog counterpart fund for Enugu State and is willing to pay again.
“The inputs we have here is worth over N400 million.
“Presently we are building market stores and we will put these farm inputs in the rice and cassava processing centres we built last year to make them run effectively,” Isiwu said.
A beneficiary and rice farmer, Mrs Chikodi Ilobuchi, said that the items she received would help her to make cake, process her rice and cassava faster than the way she does it before.
