The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP-AF) in Kogi State has distributed agricultural equipment to about 350 farmers, including women, and provided start-up packs to 33 Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), as part of efforts to boost agricultural productivity, promote inclusion and create sustainable livelihoods.
FarmingFarmersFarms reports that the intervention, distributed in Lokoja, the state capital, covered farmers involved in production, processing and marketing, as well as women beneficiaries from five local government areas of the state, which include Ajaokuta, Lokoja, Ibaji, Olamaboro, and Kabba-Bunu.
The equipment provided to farmers include knapsack sprayers, solar-powered pumping machines, threshers, wheelbarrows, and shovels, among others, to strengthen activities along the agricultural value chains.
Speaking on behalf of the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Timothy Ojomah, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Moses Dare, described the intervention as a demonstration that agricultural development must be inclusive and capable of reaching vulnerable members of society, saying that the Kogi State Government, under Governor Ahmed Ododo, remained committed to agricultural development, poverty reduction and empowering vulnerable groups to become self-reliant.
“This is not merely about providing equipment. It is about creating opportunities, promoting self-reliance, strengthening livelihoods, and restoring confidence”, he stated.
He urged the beneficiaries to put the equipment and other items to productive use, while encouraging them to embrace cooperative structures to improve their access to markets, resources, and other opportunities.
The State Project Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP in Kogi, Dr. Stella Adejoh said the programme is committed to ensuring that persons living with disabilities are not excluded from economic opportunities, stressing that disability is not inability.
According to her, while the participating farmers contributed 30% of the cost of the equipment supplied to them, the support provided to the PWD beneficiaries was offered at no cost.
Adejoh disclosed that 350 women also benefited from energy-efficient cooking stoves linked to briquetting machines, which convert rice husks and other agricultural waste into cleaner fuel.
“We expect this intervention to be sustainable. Beneficiaries should use these items for the purpose they are given”, she said.
Adejoh appreciated Governor Ododo for the prompt payment of the state’s counterpart funds and commended the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for its continued support for the programme.
The State Project Coordinator further disclosed that VCDP had profiled 7,575 farmers across the five participating local government areas and had so far supported about 5,600 farmers along the cassava and rice value chains.
Some beneficiaries, including Yakubu Mohammed from Olamaboro, Glory Omale from Ibaji, and Latifat Babatunde from Ajaokuta, expressed appreciation to VCDP, IFAD and the Kogi State Government for the intervention.
The intervention is expected to strengthen farm production and processing, support women and vulnerable groups, promote the productive use of agricultural waste, and improve livelihoods across benefiting communities.
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