Business
333 Fadama Groups Get N194m Grant
A total of 333 Fadama Users Groups (FUGs) have so far received N194 million matching grants in Zamfara State to implement their sub-projects under Fadama III.
The state’s Programme Coordinator, Alhaji Aliyu Altine, disclosed this last Thursday in Gusau while distributing 56 motorcycles to Fadama III facilitators to enhance their work.
Altine said that the FUGs included fishermen, pastoralists, irrigation farmers, poultry farmers, widows and physically challenged persons.
He said that a number of tube wells and water pumps had been provided for irrigation farmers.
According to him, market stalls, culverts, earth dams have been constructed under Fadama III in addition to the provision of agro-processing machines for the FUGs.
He said that Fadama stakeholders contributed between 15 per cent and 50 per cent of the funding for the programme.
Altine said that the projects would also assist to reduce poverty, generate employment opportunities, increase food production and guarantee food security.
He advised the beneficiaries to hold regular meetings within their FUGs and establish Fadama User Equity Funds (FUEFs) account, with a view to replacing their equipments as at when due to ensure sustainability.
The coordinator said that Fadama III, in collaboration with USAID, had trained 1,500 farmers on modern techniques of farming and provided advisory services to 1,980 Fadama communities.
He also said that veterinary clinics would be constructed in Fulani settlements, if they expressed interest and commended the efforts of the state government in enhancing agricultural activities in the state.