By Collins Agwam

Dry season farmers in Nasarawa State have commended the Federal Government of Nigeria and the International Fund for Agricultural Development for supporting them with the needed farming inputs to scale up rice production in the state.

The FGN, in collaboration with IFAD, had empowered several farmer organisations with inputs in five out of the 13 Local Government Areas of the state in order to tackle issues of rice shortages and to ensure food security across the state.

Speaking during a stakeholders field visit to the Dry Season Rice Farmlands in the Lower Benue Phase one, and Rice Aggregation Center in the Doma LGA on Wednesday, the farmers under the Alekuwole Esewoga Cooperative Society, expressed their gratitude to the FGN/IFAD Value Chain Development Programme for the empowerment which had helped in increasing their yields.

The Chairman of the group, Yakubu Abubakar told Journalists shortly after the field visit, that before the coming of the VCDP to the state, there were complaints of Rice shortage among farmer groups in the area, but the regular support from the programme had completely changed the narrative as farmers now have more than enough rice to eat and sell during the rainy and dry seasons.

He said, “Presently, members of my group are operating in five hectares of land here in Doma LGA. We now have enough rice both during the rainy and dry seasons. All these could not have been possible if not for the FGN/IFAD Value Chain Development Programme, which has constantly given us the needed support to succeed.

“We are grateful for the support thus far, and we want to assure them that on our own part as farmers in the five benefiting VCDP LGAs, we will continue to do our best to ensure that we have enough rice that will be able to serve the entire residents of the state.”

On her part, the State Coordinator of the FGN/IFAD Value Chain Development Programme, Dr. Eunice Adgidzi, said the gesture was aimed at ensuring that Rice farmers are able to boost their capacities and cultivate enough food for the increasing population in the state.

She explained that apart from Doma LGA, Lafia, Wamba, Nasarawa and Karu as the benefiting LGAs had also constantly received support from the programme, which is aimed at ensuring food security in the state.

Dr. Adgidzi added, “Today, we brought stakeholders to see what we are doing. Yes, we interface with farmers regularly, but it is not enough. For us to succeed, we need the stakeholders’ support, so this is an opportunity for them to see what we have been doing in the state.

“Here in Lower Benue phase one of Doma LGA, we have approximately 8 to 10 hectares of Rice farms being cultivated, and we have farmers that are in other locations doing the dry season farming.

“It is in line with ensuring food security in the state, that was why we also recently built a modern Rice Aggregation Center inside the Doma market, to facilitate the collection and processing of Rice in the area.

“Food security is an important issue, and as we can see, there are still enough lands to be cultivated. So, we want more persons, especially the youths to come and join us in our farming activities, so that together, we will work towards tackling hunger in the state.”

In his speech, the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Agriculture, Umaru Tanko-Tunga, while commending the FG and IFAD for supporting the dry season rice farmers, called on the benefiting farmer organisations not to relent in their quest of ensuring food sufficiency in the state.

Tanko-Tunga further assured of the state government’s resolve to continue to give the needed support to the FG and IFAD in order to ensure the success of the Value Chain Development Programme in the state.

Published Date: March 27, 2025