Business
Coordinator Explains Slow Pace Of FADAMA III Project
Nasarawa State Coordinator of Fadama III, Alhaji Abdullahi Alkali, has attributed the slow progress of the project to the inability of the state to remit its counterpart funding.
In an interview with newsmen in Keffi, Alkali said government had only paid N26 million in 2008 as against N56.4 million it should contribute while it has not paid any money in 2009 and 2010.
Alkali said payment of counterpart funding was one of the conditions for the state to draw from the $250 million grant by the World Bank over the next five years.
He said so far only NI0.2 million was disbursed to 15 user groups in 13 local government areas of the state, adding that 1,950 user groups made up of 341,000 farmers were being targeted.
He also attributed the slow pace of disbursement to the attitude of the users who have so far failed to make their own contribution in spite a sensitisation programme carried out in the last two years.
The coordinator said the failure of farmers to make their own contributions could be due to poverty prevalent in the communities.
“We are doing all that is necessary to ensure that the people pay their contributions. We know they are very poor to afford the 10 per cent which was reduced by the government from the initial 30 per cent,” Alkali said.
A beneficiary of the project, Mr Bazouka Achemary, lamented that in spite of agriculture being one of the 13-point agenda of the state government there was nothing on ground to show for it.
He called for a review of the Fadama project in the state because it was not yielding the desired results because there was not enough fund from the government to complement the few contributions by the beneficiaries.
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Blue Economy: Minister Seeks Lifeline In Blue Bond Amid Budget Squeeze

Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is seeking new funding to implement its ambitious 10-year policy, with officials acknowledging that public funding is insufficient for the scale of transformation envisioned.
Adegboyega Oyetola, said finance is the “lever that will attract long-term and progressive capital critical” and determine whether the ministry’s goals take off.
“Resources we currently receive from the national budget are grossly inadequate compared to the enormous responsibility before the ministry and sector,” he warned.
He described public funding not as charity but as “seed capital” that would unlock private investment adding that without it, Nigeria risks falling behind its neighbours while billions of naira continue to leak abroad through freight payments on foreign vessels.
He said “We have N24.6 trillion in pension assets, with 5 percent set aside for sustainability, including blue and green bonds,” he told stakeholders. “Each time green bonds have been issued, they have been oversubscribed. The money is there. The question is, how do you then get this money?”
The NGX reckons that once incorporated into the national budget, the Debt Management Office could issue the bonds, attracting both domestic pension funds and international investors.
Yet even as officials push for creative financing, Oloruntola stressed that the first step remains legislative.
“Even the most innovative financial tools and private investments require a solid public funding base to thrive.
It would be noted that with government funding inadequate, the ministry and capital market operators see bonds as alternative financing.
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