IFAD Earmarks $100m For Rice, Cassava Production

Co-ordinator, Frsc Special Marshals and Partnership, Mr Ben Osaka (left), addressing pupils of Army Children School, during a sensitisation campaign on good road habits in Onitsha last Wednesday.

The International Fund
for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said on Monday that it has earmarked $100 million dollars for distribution among smallholder famers for the production of rice and cassava in the country.
The Country Programme Manager of IFAD, Ms. Atsuko Toda said this in Awka when she led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Nnamdi Mekor.
According to her, Ebonyi, Benue, Niger, Taraba, Ogun and Anambra will benefit from the money.
“The Value Chain Development programme being sponsored by IFAD is a five-year programme with total project cost of 100 million dollars which will be divided among the six states.
“Fourteen million dollars will be disbursed in the first year for each state and they are expected to pay counterpart fund of N400 million,” Toda explained.
According to her the target group are smallholder farmers — mostly women and youths.
She said the team was in the state to inspect ongoing work in the cassava and rice value chain programme and to see the connection between the producers, processors and marketers.
She commended the state government for its leadership role in repositioning agriculture as business and its consistency in the payment of counterpart funds.
In his remark, the National Programme Coordinator, Dr Ameh Onoja, said that the programme was aimed at reducing the huge amount of money spent on the importation of rice and wheat.
Onoja explained that the programme was essentially targeted at developing the culture of agro-business on the small scale.
Responding, Mekor, said that Governor Willie Obiano’s administration was determined to boost the agriculture sector of the state.
He noted that the government was working along the chain from production to marketing.
The commissioner, however, explained that the state government was assisting farmers to develop 1,000 hectares of land and had acquired additional 37, 000 hectares.
According to him, since 2014 we have provided free tractor services to farmers but they will be required to make little payment this year for servicing the tractors.
He noted that the state government had distributed 60, 000 bundles of highly improved cassava stems, provided free fertilisers and micro credit, to encourage the farmers in the state.
The delegation later visited rice and cassava farmers in Anambra East, Anambra West and Ayamelum as well as a starch mill at Ihiala.