By Chris Nyamtu
More than 7,000 smallholder farmers across five local government areas of Nasarawa State have benefited from a Federal Government agricultural intervention supported the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) under the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).
The Nasarawa State Programme Coordinator of the VCDP, Dr Eunice Adigidzi, disclosed this during a one-day stakeholders’ meeting held in Lafia.
The programme, which commenced in 2021, is being implemented in five local government areas of the state, focusing on rice and cassava value chains. As the project approaches its completion in December 2026, stakeholders, including traditional rulers, community leaders and smallholder farmers converged in Lafia to review its achievements and advocate for the institutionalisation of the programme’s model to ensure sustainable and improved food production.
Dr Adigidzi said participating farmers have increasingly adopted modern farming practices, particularly in rice and cassava production, leading to improved yields since the programme’s inception.
She added that rural farmers, largely women and youths, have received extensive training across the programme’s key components aimed at enhancing productivity, improving market access and promoting better nutrition.
She stressed that given the significant impact of the programme, especially in achieving bumper harvests, there is a need for sustained commitment and resource allocation stakeholders and the state government to guarantee its sustainability.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mallam Mohammed Osungbwo said farmers have acquired new skills in rice and cassava production, gained access to improved seeds and farm equipment, and called on the state government to adopt the VCDP model to promote sustainable economic empowerment for smallholder farmers.
In their separate remarks, the State Chairman of the Steering Committee on the Value Chain Development Programme and Commissioner for Agriculture, Tanko Tunga, alongside the Chairman of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Dr Peter Akwe, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to institutionalising the programme beyond 2026.
The meeting featured interactive sessions, with stakeholders calling on the state government to prioritise the domestication of agricultural programmes as part of broader efforts to strengthen rural development and enhance food security. (Radio Nigeria)