Governors support World Bank on FADAMA project

Two governors, Mr. Willie Obiano (Anambra) and Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), have reaffirmed their commitment to the FADAMA III Additional Finance (AF) Project of the World Bank in their states.

It is a financing agreement between the Federal Government and World Bank to ramp up production of value crops in six core states of Anambra, Enugu, Kano, Kogi, Lagos and Niger.

Also, the project has disbursed N20, 550, 200 to Ebonyi State for rice production.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Obiano stated this in Awka, the state capital while receiving officials of the project led by Dr. Adetunji Oredipe, World Bank Task Team Leader (TTL), in his office.

Anambra, one of the core state in FADAMA III AF, is
into rice value chain.

He said that it was critical to support FADAMA for its interventions and assistance to farmers in Anambra State.

The governor assured the delegation of good governance and transparency in funds disbursements and projects implementation.

“I want to assure you that whatever aid we get, we will use the grants for infrastructure, roads construction, storage facilities for rural farmers to boost productivity.

“We bought 100 tractors to help our farmers including Fadama users for land clearing which is most difficulty in farming system’’, he said.

Obiano added that the state have 24 companies that were generating 4.3 billion dollars investment and nine of them were agro-based.
He said that the state would launch the rainy season farming project next week which N250 million was budgeted for good seedlings among others.

Oredipe lauded the Obiano administration for its support for the project, saying: “The establishment of a control centre to communicate new farming ideas to farmers is an amazing one that has never happened in any state.”

Dr. Ben Herbert, representing Mr. Tayo Adewumi, National Project Coordinator, thanked the governor and his team for their support for the project.

Ambode, represented by Deputy Governor Idiat Ronke Adebule while receiving the Federal Government/World Bank technical mission at Government House, Ikeja, said it was critical to support FADAMA for its unique interventions and vital assistance to farmers.

He assured the delegation of good governance and transparency in funds disbursements and projects implementation: “I want to assure you that whatever we say we will use the grants for; infrastructure, roads, storage facilities and so on; that exactly is what we will do”.

Oredipe praised the Ambode administration for its recent synergy with Kebbi on rice production, while urging the government to speed up such initiatives with other states, especially in the southwest.

He urged the governor to speed up the release of the state’s counterpart funds for 2015 and 2016, bearing in mind that others are also competing for the facility, coupled with the fact that agriculture is seasonal and time- bound.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki, the capital, Dr. Cletus Nwakpu, the Ebonyi State coordinator, said that the project released over N20 million being the grant contribution for the approved 20 business plans or rice production groups.

He commended the Ukwachi Nzashi Ikwo FADAMA User Group (FUG), for the emergence of the use of rice threshing machine by Ebonyi farmers.

He added that they groups one of the most viable and effective farmers’ groups in the state and Fadama in the state were partners with the Food and Agriculture Organisation rice value chain.

With the tremendous work of the Governor David Umahi to transform the its production with objective to feed Nigeria with nutritious Ebonyi rice, he enjoined FADAMA officials to migrate Ebonyi to a core state.

Ebonyi is one of Production Cluster states of the project but involved in rice value chain.