[FIL PHOTO] Community Meeting : FADAMA III AF II distribution of farm inputs
The Federal Government had, in 2016, secured additional financing loans from the World Bank, specifically to address food scarcity, job loss, damaged infrastructures and shortage of water in the six affected states.
According to the Project Desk Officer for Fadama AF II, Ibrahim Alkali, the project has been “catering for agricultural and livelihood restoration needs of families whose livelihoods have been devastated by conflicts as identified by the Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) prepared by the government with supports from the World Bank in the agriculture sector.
“The Federal Government in conjunction with the states and local government councils in the North East, has been providing support for restoration of the agricultural production activities through provision of starter packages to affected households, including required agricultural inputs and on-farm and post-harvest productive assets, to support economic opportunities with specific focus on women and youth.”
The desk officer informed that scheme had been introduced as a new component to the ongoing project as component seven, while the project management, monitoring and evaluation component was scaled up to support project implementation.
In another development, the Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with BIOCROPS, an indigenous private biotechnology company for the production of assorted high-quality seeds and seedlings, bio-fertiliser, pesticides and nematicides to boost food production.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Bitrus Bako Nabasu, signed the MOU on behalf of the government while the Chief Executive of BIOCROPS, Chief Joseph Odusanya, signed for BIOCROPS over the week in Abuja.
A statement signed by Head, Press and Public Relations, Abdul Ganiyu Aminu said, “Biotechnology is a valuable tool for addressing the several challenges of Nigeria in terms of food production, genetic improvement of living system as well as improved health management, environmental sustainable and industrial growth.
“The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology through its Agencies as a matter of policy, has been forging and supporting collaborations among public and Private Institutions and organizations to facilitate development, equity investment in projects and access to new revenue and capacity to service delivery.”
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