The Federal Government of Nigeria/ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), is assisting 150 benefiting farmers in Ebonyi in dry season farming.
Mr Sunday Ituma, the IFAD-VCDP State Programme Coordinator, made the disclosure while flagging off the 2023/24 dry season farming at Odomowo, Inyimegu in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state.
Ituma said that the flag-off was one of the programme’s 2023 activities brought forward to 2024 and it afforded dignitaries present to see its dry season cluster at Ikwo.
“The benefiting 150 farmers are expected to cultivate 150 hectares of land.
“IFAD-VCDP will support the benefiting groups and individuals within the groups with four bags of NPK and two bags of urea fertilizers.
“They will also be supported with two litres of herbicides (selective and non-selective) alongside capacity building in dry season farming,” he said.
He noted that the programme has provided 10 sets of solar-powered irrigation pumps to check the problems encountered in providing petrol for water pumps.
“The water pumps have been confirmed functional and we are expecting technical experts who will fabricate free-energy water pumps to draw water from the river,” he said.
Ituma thanked Gov. Francis Nwifuru for providing the enabling environment for IFAD to thrive especially the payment of the state government’s N100 million counterpart fund in 2023.
