FCTA to benefit in N200m World Bank FADAMA 111 project -Coordinator

Coordinator of the FADAMA 111 World Bank agricultural project in the FCT, Alhaji Abdulahi Danladi Saisu, has said that farmers in the FCT henceforth will be benefiting from the World bank additional funding to agro business value chain.
The coordinator said this in an exclusive interview with the Abuja Times on the project implementation.

According to Salilu, project, which is its first and pilot stage in the FCT, was made fascicle under the present administration of Mallam Mohammed Bello as the Minister of FCT.
He noted that the Minister on assumption of office, was able to buy the idea of the State paying it’s counterpart funding to the world bank and will now be able to access it share of the additional funding
of world bank FADAMA 111 money.
His words, “the FCT was not able to partake in the world bank agricultural funding programme, just because, the previous administration, was not able to key into the programme and that was the reason why we lost the opportunities of FADAMA 11 but when Mallam Bello came into office, he saw the need for improving in agriculture and made money available for counterpart funding.”
He observed that the FAdAMA 111 project, was conceived due to the approach to the world bank for an increase of four years for it to develop about four crops which it has comparative advantage in farming
and to have it been grown in the country with its agricultural value chain, as this will grow the economy of the country.
The four crops which is cassava, maize, rice and sorghum, will be grown in the Fct will establishment of agro value chain to bring to an end excessive wastage among Nigerians farmers.
Expectedly, the crops value chain if well implemented, is supposed to add value to Nigeria economy. “The cassava we loath does not only end in eaten, there are other industrial needs of the produce. Rice and sorghum also had similar extracts to serve other economic purposes so when the value chain is fully extracted, those crops may end up solving many needs. You see that is the difference between the parent project FAdAMA 11 which has the main purpose of agro development alone, while that of the FADAMA 111 has the agenda of agro business which will involve thousands of people by creation of employment, skill acquisition and the domiciliary of the research institutions in Nigeria.”
He stressed that the FCTA has already about 20 farmers, in this pilot stage to benefit from the 200 million dollars in the additional funding, over and above the earlier 250 million dollars in FADAMA 11
which FCT was not able to take part funding. Alhaji Salisu noted that the take-off of this programme in the FCT.
Further speaking, he told that the FCT is currently involved in dry season farming as pilot stage where so many farmers will be educated on several procedural ways in farming.
Speaking. among the challenges of farming in Nigeria and the value chain, he said that Nigeria as a Nation have not even enough food to feed over one hundred and seventy people let alone putting in the
cellos. ” before we start the exportation of food items, we must be able to solve the problems of wrong farming, our farmers must be able to have the knowledge of right seedlings and the right soil to plant
on. They must be aware of the right farmer to buy approved seedlings that is some of the benefits of the programme with adequate information and workshops.”
In the pilot stage, he revealed that the FCTA who have trailed behind, can still meet up with food production to feed the increased population of the FCT. “We have already done about 500 hectares, for
rice and the same for rice and cassava. Such he said will also be repeated during the rainy season to complete three farming season in a year.”
On the contribution from the farmers, he reiterated that the programme is never free for all as farmers who were able to pay their own percentage will benefit or already benefiting from the programme while
hoping that more of the farmers would indicate interest when the project started yielding fruits.