How FADAMA turned Kogi to cassava production hub
Within a few years, a programme has turned many farmers into high earners in Kogi State. Sunday reports.
IDaily Trust
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From Itodo Daniel Sule, Lokoja n 2014, the World Bank in collaboration with the federal and Kogi State governments commenced the implementation of the FADAMA III Additional Financing, (FADAMA III-AF), programme aimed at increasing production of raw materials for the identified six Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZs) across the country.
The bank had provided a $200 million credit for the programme which was to last for four years while the implementing states and the Federal Government equally made their counterpart funding to access the facility.
The programme focused at improving the productivity of farmers engaged in rice, cassava, sorghum and horticulture in six selected high potential states with Kogi inclusive.
In the case of the state, it was designed to support cassava farmers to boost the volume of cassava production by at least 40 per cent and also increase their incomes by 20 per cent.
Basically, the programme provides support for cassava farmers in the areas of land clearing, cultivation, high-yielding cassava stems, (TME 419), training on best agronomic practices, provision of access roads, boreholes in farms, fertilizers/chemicals and linking farmers to markets (off-takers), amongst others.
Recently, the Kogi State Fadama Coordination Office led by the State Project Coordinator, Mr Paul Ogunmola, took the media on a field visit to the six cassava farm clusters where the FADAMA III-AF Programme was being implemented.
The clusters visited are, OdoApe in Kabba/Bunu, Magongo in Ogori/Magongo, Ogori in Ogori/ Magongo, Ojapata in Ankpa, Iresuare and Uro in Adavi. The visit provided some of the concerns and successes of the programme since it commenced about three years ago.
A farmer, Mrs Esther Rufus, said the programme had greatly improved her fortunes as she now record bumper harvests because of the improved stems coupled with the agro chemicals provided by FADAMA.
She said FADAMA helped in constructing 6.27 kilometres of feeder road to ease transportation and also provided a motorized hand pump borehole.
Mrs Rufus said that a total of 100 farmers comprising 83 males and 17 females are currently into cassava farming within their cluster adding that more people are indicating interest.
On his part, Ibitoye Kehinde, a graduate, who works at the Magongo cluster, said the programme has helped in empowering many people in the community especially the unemployed youths.
He said: “With the help of FADAMA, we now have larger farms. We used to have smaller farms when we were using manual means of cultivation but now, we use tractors and also apply chemicals which have helped us make our farms larger.”
According to him, a total of 25 youth were actively taking part in cassava farming on the 35 hectares under cultivation adding that a number of others were eager to join having seen the successes.
The Magongo cluster chairman, Balogun Ayodele, said it was the first time they were experiencing good things from the World Bank in collaboration with the federal and state governments.
“I think it is a good omen. All of us are now happy because cassava is an exorbitant commodity in the market today,” he said.
Aishetu Musa, at the Iresuare cluster, said many women in the area have been empowered through the programme, saying that a number of them engage in cassava farming while others take part in the processing.
At the Ojapata cluster, their chairman, Patrick Attah, said that a total of 80 hectares been cleared and cultivated adding that another 250 hectares have been cleared but yet to be utilised.
He described cassava as a big business for people of the area, pointing out that besides the income, farmers could also make money from cassava peels which are now being processed into animal feeds through the initiative of a firm.
The traditional ruler of Emekutu in Ojapata, Chief Shaibu Hassan, expressed delight that the initiative had helped in taking his people out of poverty.
Speaking at the end of the field visits, State Project Coordinator, said the project’s objective has been largely actualised.
He said initially, the objective was that the yield would have increased by about 40 per cent but by the middle of the project, it went up to over a 100 per cent.
Ogunmola said farmers’ income have increased by 200 per cent from the anticipated 20 per cent projected noting all aspects of the programme has been achieved.
“The farmers are happy and we are happy too. I think so far, it has been a very successful project and the success stories are very high. Hopefully what we want to see is that with time, when we come here again, most of our farmers should be able to own their own vehicles which they will use in transporting their products,” he said.
He commended the Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, for the prompt payments of counterpart funds which enabled the state to fully implement the programme.
Ogunmola said that under the programme, 965 hectares have been cultivated and planted with improved cassava varietyTME 419, constructed 35.82km of roads to cluster farms, drilled 12 hand pump boreholes and procured four tractors to boost farm mechanisation in the state amongst others.