Fadama disburses N170m To Beneficiaries

The Ebonyi Fadama office says it has so far disbursed a total of N170 million to 382 user groups and community associations in the state.

The state coordinator of the programme, Dr. Cletus Nwakpu, who disclosed this in Abakaliki said, that the disbursement was made to beneficiaries in the 13 local governments in the state.

“The 382 user groups who received about 80 per cent of the disbursed funds, invested in agricultural income generating ventures which included farming, poultry, fisheries, piggery and animal husbandry”.

“The community associations undertook physical projects such as inauguration of bridges, boreholes, culverts and roads, among others,” he said.

The project coordinator expressed delight that most of the ventures and projects had started yielding dividends for the beneficiaries.

The projects, he said, had helped to promote the programme in the state.

“Some of them, especially the user groups, have started saving about 10 per cent of their proceeds in a special account under the programme, known as Fadama User Equity Fund”.

“This fund enables them to replace their non-functional agricultural facilities such as cassava and oil palm processing machines and enhance their productive capabilities, among other benefits,” the coordinator said.

He attributed the success of the programme to the active involvement of the state and local governments.

The coordinator said: “The state government has paid a total of N112.8 million as counterpart fund of the Fadama programme for 2008 and 2009, as we have submitted the proposal for the payment of the 2010 counterpart fund”.

“The 13 local governments have also contributed a total of 78 million as their share of the counterpart fund for 2008, 2009 and 2010.” Nwakpu commended the state government for providing the necessary infrastructure, especially in the rural areas, saying that the gesture had helped in the effective monitoring of Fadama projects across the state.