Amidst the ripple effect of climate change on food security, the federal government has appealed to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to release the $5 million adaptation grant for the Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP) under the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, who appealed during a courtesy visit by the Associate Vice President of IFAD, Dr Donal Brown, recalled that ASAP was launched in 2021 to channel climate finance to smallholder farmers.
He added that the Enhanced Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP+) was also envisioned to be the largest fund dedicated to channelling climate finance to small-scale producers.
The Minister, however, sought the approval of Nigeria’s requested two-year extension to enable the programme to improve on its disbursement status.
While commending IFAD for its faithfulness to due diligence in the existing operations of Nigerian IFAD portfolios, he noted that the smooth implementation of the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise – Niger Delta (LIFE-ND), Value Chain Development Program (VCDP) Additional Financing (AF) and Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) Programme underscored the unique quality of the strategic partnership between Nigeria and IFAD.
“It is my strong belief that some of the next steps in the implementation of LIFE-AND which include the approval of a one-year extension, request for $20m additional Financing (AF) and preparation of LIFE-ND phase two will be given accelerated attention,” he said.
The minister assured that Nigeria was committed to IFAD’s future trajectory, especially and essentially on leveraging innovation for agri-food system transformation.
Kyari revealed that the FG would organise an agriculture and food security summit this year, which is designed to bring together a diverse community of organisational partners and strategic stakeholders in a commitment to the cause.
The Associate Vice President of IFAD in his response said Nigeria is one of the strongest partners of IFAD and thanked the government for its commitment to the partnership.
