From Okwe Obi, Abuja
To improve food security and enhance agricultural productivity, the Federal Government, through the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) and the Niger State Government have signed a N5 billion co-financing agreement.
In the agreement, NADF will provide technical advisory role and monitoring and evaluation of the project with Niger Foods Company expected to provide off take and market access responsibilities.
Also, both NADF and the Niger State Government provided N2.5 billion to fund a large-scale mixed cropping initiative for the primary production of rice and maize production across 4,000 hectares targeting 4000 smallholder farmers across three local government areas of Niger State.
In a statement yesterday by NADF, its Executive Secretary, Muhammed Ibrahim, highlighted the importance of the partnership, saying, “Today’s event remains very historic in our effort to boost agriculture through joint funding of large hectares of land to produce food. We are indeed excited to witness the first of agriculture financing agreements with Niger State and the Niger Foods Limited.
“This agreement is aimed at producing over 20,000 tons of food and impacting at least 40,000 lives while creating employment and wealth generation for smallholder farmers and other demography.”
Governor Bago emphasized the need for self-reliance in food production, saying that “in line with the President’s Food Security Initiative, it is imperative for us to achieve food sovereignty. We have abundant resources-rain, water bodies, and arable land – and must put them to productive use. This initiative, anchored by Niger Foods, represents a bold step in the right direction.”
The Governor explained that the project will not only enhance food production but also create employment opportunities and improve the livelihoods of thousands of residents of our state, “as a testament to our shared commitment to feeding ourselves and securing a prosperous future for Niger State and Nigeria.”
Recall that NADF and the Niger State Government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last year leading to the signing of funding agreement between NADF, Niger Foods, and the Niger State Government, setting the stage for transformative growth towards achieving food security and self-sufficiency in Nigeria.