Niger farmers are set to benefit from inputs support worth N78.4 million from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).
Dr Fatima Aliyu, National Programme Coordinator (NPC) Federal Government/IFAD-VCDP, disclosed this during the inauguration of the 2022 wet season input distribution to the benefiting farmers.
The input is targeted to support 369 farmers in Niger. Aliyu, represented by Dr Chika Unamma, Agriculture Production Advisor, VCDP, Abuja, said that the exercise was implemented under the VCDP-Additional Financing (AF).
Wet season farming
“We are spending N78.4 million for the 2022 wet season farming in Niger state but the emphasis is on the three local government areas of Borgu, Edati and Mokwa benefiting in the VCDP-AF. A total of 369 farmers from Niger state will benefit in the rice and cassava VCDP,” she said.
For this year’s wet season farming, the VCDP would support the farmers with 369 hectares of land, adding that out of the figure, rice would be cultivated on 302 hectares, while cassava takes 67 hectares. In Borgu Local Government Area, 108 farmers would benefit in the programme which would gulp N16.5 million. Similarly, Dr Mathew Ahmed, the State Programme Coordinator (SPC), said that among the three local governments, 108 farmers would benefit from Borgu, 113 from Edati and 148 from Mokwa.
Ahmed explained that each farmer would get four bags of NPK fertiliser, two bags of Urea fertilisers, one certified 25kg bag of rice seeds and one litre of herbicide. Each cassava farmer would be given 50 bundles of cassava cuttings with same number of NPKand Urea fertiliser and herbicide. The support was based on 50% matching grant that would be paid by the beneficiaries, while the VCDP pays the balance of 50%.
The programme was designed to achieve increase in yield, whereby the rice farmer’s yield would increase to 7.5 metric tons per hectare and the cassava farmer increase yields to 30 metric tons per hectare. Ahmed said that the VCDP had set up a monitoring team to ensure that the farmers utilise the inputs judiciously.
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