Why states should implement value chain development

Why states should implement value chain development – IFAD

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has stated the reason state governments should commit towards a six-year assisted Value Chain Development Programme (FGN/IFAD VCDP) which they are the main beneficiaries.

The FGN/IFAD VCDP seeks to improve the livelihood outcomes of 135,000 smallholder farmers along the rice and cassava value chains in Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba, Enugu, Kogi and Nasarawa.

Interacting with journalists at the wrap-up of the 10th supervision mission of the FGN/IFAD VCDP in Abuja, IFAD Country Director, Mrs Dede Ekoue, commended Ebonyi, Enugu, Kogi and Taraba states for paying their counterpart fund contribution, urged the remaining participating states to comply with theirs own contributions.

The IFAD Country Director further stated that the VCDP has had immense impacts on youth and women, especially in the areas of income generation and gender equality.

”We’ve seen that the youth are very happy to have the support of the VCDP and it is leading them to increase their income along the value chain. We have for example, seed entrepreneurs, these are the young people that have been trained, we also have the youth providing some services to farmers, mechanisation services, that’s really important.

”Women have also shown that they’re really happy about the program because it not only allows women to have access to inputs, but it also works within the community to improve gender equality using the household approach that we call the gender Learning Action system.

”We need all the states that are members covered by VCDP to come forth with the counterpart funds because, without funding, it’s difficult to achieve the results to the scale that was planned. We acknowledge that the Federal Minister of Agriculture has disbursed its counterpart funds.

”I want to thank all the states that have been paying the counterpart funds this year. We know we had this counterpart fund paid in Ebonyi, Enugu, Kogi and Taraba states”, she said.

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