282 Nasarawa farmers get farm inputs from FG/IFAD to boost food production

In its mandate to sustain surplus food production in the state and across the country, the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) in Nasarawa State has distributed massive farm inputs to 282 farmers in five local government areas of the state.

In a keynote address at the flag-off ceremony, Governor Abdullahi Sule commended the administration of President Bola Tinubu for his Renewed Hope Agenda on food security.

Sule promised to continue supporting Tinubu’s food security policy in the state to ensure surplus production.

He noted that the VCDP is truly supporting farmers through the provision of farm inputs and seedlings, which have helped boost productivity in the farming sector in the state.

The State Programme Coordinator of FG/IFAD VCDP, Mrs. Eunice Adgizi, at the flag-off ceremony in Lafia on Sunday, said that the distribution marks phase one of the inputs, agricultural equipment, and nutrition-based seedlings provided to farmers in the state.

“Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), started in Nasarawa State in July 2020 with the mandate of improving the production, processing, and marketing of rice and cassava in the state.

“The Nasarawa State VCDP has, since its inception, been working assiduously to fulfil this mandate. We commend Governor Abdullahi Sule for his significant support for agriculture and food security in the state, as well as the payment of the 2024/25 counterpart funding.

“Today, we distribute essential inputs to 282 farmers across VCDP-participating LGAs. The items include: Fertilisers: NPK (1,128 bags) and Urea (356 bags). Herbicides: non-selective (282) and Selective (282). Rice Seeds: 8,900 kg. Farm equipment includes: eight power tillers with diesel engines, 60 solar-powered knapsack sprayers, and 23 irrigation pumps. Eight rice threshers. Eight solar-powered irrigation pumps. Eight rice reapers. Three mechanical rice transplanters and 17 tricycles with trailers.

“Others are 12 home garden seeds empowering women in our extension services, which provide expert guidance, innovative farming practices, and technology that boost yields,” Adgizi stated.

Adgizi also noted that the five local government areas where the VCDP is currently operating are Karu, Lafia, Doma, Wamba, and Nasarawa.