The Federal Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, has begun evaluation of the implementation of the Value Chain Development Programme in Nasarawa State.
The Mission Leader, Joint FGN/IFAD Implementation Support Mission, Samuel Eremie, disclosed this to newsmen in Lafia on Monday at the beginning of a two-day visit to project sites across the five participating Local Government Areas of the state which include Lafia, Doma, Wamba, Karu and Nasarawa.
He narrated that the objective of the mission was to have evidence of the reports presented by the Value Chain Development Programme in Nasarawa State and to proffer solutions to the challenges the VCDP was facing in the state.
Eremie said, “The mission is covering nine states. We have visited Ogun State and now we are in Nasarawa State. The objective of this mission is to have evidence of the reports presented. So, we want to go beyond what has been reported to confirm and verify the performance of the VCDP in the state.
“The reports were really satisfactory, so we will be heading for the field to have discussions with the beneficiaries, senior state government officials, and we will hopefully meet with the governor tomorrow.
“And at the end of all these interactions, we will be in a better position to confirm our initial impression about the performance of the VCDP in Nasarawa State.”
On her part, the National Programme Coordinator of the FGN/IFAD VCDP, Fatima Aliyu, said since the programme commenced in the state, it had been able to positively impact the lives of over 7,000 residents of the state who were into rice and cassava farming.
Aliyu, who was represented by the Financial Controller of the programme, Usman Muhammed, expressed gratitude to the Nasarawa State government for partnering with the Value Chain Development Programme, adding that the partnership had ensured food sufficiency and encouraged bumper harvest in the state.
“The programme came on board at the end of 2019, and from the records presented today, you will see that a lot has been achieved despite the challenges. We really appreciate the efforts being made by the Nasarawa State VCDP, the staff and all the beneficiaries of the programme.
“The programme is aimed at reaching the rural poor people so that they can be taken out of poverty, and also to address cases of post-harvest losses, environmental degradation, limited access to productive assets and inputs, inadequate financial services, low productivity, among others,” she added.
