Stakeholders in the Federal Government/International Fund for Agricultural Development–Value Chain Development Programme (FG/IFAD–VCDP), have called for the institutionalisation of the programme’s gains to ensure sustainable agricultural transformation in Nasarawa State beyond 2026.
They made the call at a stakeholders’ engagement on Friday in Lafia, aimed at securing policy, legislative and institutional backing for the VCDP model in the state.
Speaking at the event, Dr Eunice Adgidzi, the Nasarawa State Programme Coordinator of VCDP, said the engagement was designed to consolidate and institutionalise the achievements recorded under the programme in the state’s agricultural sector.
Adgidzi described the meeting as a timely follow-up to earlier engagements the Ministry of Agriculture and the Nasarawa Investment and Development Agency (NASIDA) to drive agricultural policy reforms.
She noted that Nasarawa State possesses vast agricultural potential and stressed the need for government-led policies to harness these opportunities, particularly in view of Gov. Abdullahi Sule’s personal involvement in farming.
Adgidzi highlighted that the VCDP had delivered far-reaching impacts beyond rice and cassava value chains, including interventions in climate change adaptation, rural finance, farmers’ financial literacy, nutrition, and gender inclusion.
She emphasised the importance of men’s support in enhancing women’s participation in agriculture, citing the programme’s Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) approach as a key driver of inclusive growth.
Adgidzi urged stakeholders to leverage the programme’s gains to develop robust agricultural policies capable of transforming the state’s economy, expressing optimism that the participation of the Chairman, Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, would strengthen the process.
Also speaking, Mr Samson Jonah, the Knowledge Management and Communication Officer, VCDP in Nasarawa, presented the programme’s achievements and intervention model, noting that the engagement was targeted at securing stakeholders’ buy-in to formally adopt the VCDP model in the state 2026.
Jonah explained that the VCDP seeks to showcase its achievements, position its model as a framework for sustainable agri-food systems, and initiate steps towards its institutionalisation in Nasarawa State.
He said the programme is implemented through three components: market development, smallholder productivity enhancement, and programme coordination and management, with strong focus on gender, youth, environment, monitoring, evaluation, knowledge management and communication.
According to him, VCDP operates in nine states, including Nasarawa, and focuses on four thematic areas of climate change, nutrition, financial inclusion, and women and youth networks.
Jonah listed key climate change interventions to include insurance premium payments for rice and cassava farmers, agroforestry integration, climate-resilient farming trainings, waste management initiatives, seasonal climate prediction trainings, and briquette production from agricultural waste.
On nutrition, he said the programme supported sensitisation campaigns, cooking demonstrations, home gardens, mixed-cropping demonstration plots, seedling and livestock distribution, breastfeeding and food safety trainings, and promotion of vitamin A enriched crops and products.
He added that the programme’s scorecard reflected significant capacity building, climate adaptation support and productivity gains for hundreds of farmers across participating local government areas in the state.
In his remarks, Mr Umar Tanko-Tunga, the Commissioner for Agriculture, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to its partnership with VCDP, pledging continued support to ensure the sustainability of the programme beyond 2026.
Tanko-Tunga said that the programme would not end in 2026 but would continue to grow stronger, noting that Gov. Sule had given the Ministry of Agriculture the latitude to propose and implement ideas generated from stakeholders’ inputs.
He commended the VCDP management for its dedication and leadership, while appreciating other stakeholders for their contributions.
Similarly, Dr Peter Akwe, the Chairman, Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, commended VCDP for convening an engagement that brought together grassroots farmers to strengthen the programme.
Akwe acknowledged the achievements recorded in rice and cassava production and called for the expansion of the programme to other agricultural sectors and more local government areas.
He stressed that institutionalising agricultural programmes through legislation was critical to ensuring sustainability beyond the current administration.
The agriculture committee chairman assured the stakeholders of the Assembly’s readiness to pass enabling laws and support policies that would deepen agricultural development and improve farmers’ livelihoods across Nasarawa State. (NAN)