USAID SHARE targets 42,000 house holders in Nigeria says Agric team leader.

The Agric team leader, Mr. Samuel Ameh has said the USAID SHARE is meant to empower about 42,000 householders at the three states of the federation adding there are four components of it comprising Agriculture, income generation, nutrition and hygiene, and cash transfer which is meant to positively impacted in the creation of jobs and economic empowerment of the farmers and the poorest of the poor in about 187 villages in three states of the Federation. He spoke with Food Farm News at Sokoto, read his excerpts below

 Can you introduce yourself sir?
My name is Samuel Abu Ameh, am the Agric team leader, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) SHARE Project. By SHAARE we mean Strengthening Household for Accelerated Revenue Earning which is five years programme being supported by USAID for the purpose of increasing farmers’ production, productivity income and improve their nutrition. It is targeted at 42,000 households in about three states which include Sokoto, Kebbi and FCT. In FCT, we are working in Bwari area council of four communities of about fifty villages. In Sokoto, we are working in 20 communities of 4 local governments. The 20 communities in Sokoto is about 127 villages.

In Kebbi we will start rolling out by October in 8 communities of nothing less than 40 villages. The programme is divided into four components. We have the agricultural component, the income generation component, the nutrition and hygiene component, and finally the cash transfer component. The agricultural component is meant to increase production and productivity of those the programme will be working with, as they would have got their farms already and their livelihood is on agriculture. The income generation component is meant for people within the rural communities who are farmers, but they also have period they will not be in the farm due to other menial assignment like buying and selling of agro inputs or other commodities. Our programme is intended to teach these people the modern ways of improving on their business. The unemployed within them will be linked up with small scale entrepreneur within the village for the purpose of properly being mentored in a particular trade very well as apprentice thereby following how is used to be in the past when a person will be an apprentice who will be given some money to start his or her business when graduating better improvement in the business.

We are also linking them up with industrial companies to still also teach them the value chain involvement in their production like fertilizer companies, agro chemical companies in the villages. We will also teach the rural communities people basic hygiene of hand washing. You know farmers do not really count hygiene very important as part of living but when we teach them this, we believe it will become part of them and it will also be transfer to ways of post handing of the harvest for the purpose of getting higher premium. This will also enhance their health and capacity to produce more. Somehow many farmers do not know how to mix these produce together for higher nutrition as food. This we will teach them how to combine all these together so as to enhance their nutrition and health.

 In case of cash transfer, there are people in the community who are very poor i.e poorest among the poor who   do not have anything as they depend on the communities to sustain themselves. What this programme is trying to do is that the communities will choose, pick and identify these categories of people by themselves which will be 50% of the 42,000. We will start with them for the first six months giving them about N5,000 as local government will match the grant with N1,500 and this will be like monthly salary. Meanwhile in the process, they will be taught how to do business and in the process after twelve months, the remaining six months salaries or allowance or stipend will be joined together for the apprentice to start a business and that is how is going to be done. In agriculture, we are teaching them the best practice in the profession, we are introducing new high tolerant and productive seeds and we will establish demonstration farms where they will be shown how crops will be planted with best agronomy practice and we will compare it with their own traditional ways of practicing farming to know which one is the best.

We have already trained 56 extension agents. The Government extension agents cannot reach everywhere as these supplementary ones will be made to go to where government agents cannot reach in the extreme rural areas. Now these agents are indigenous agents and resident in these communities. Part of what will happen is that people will be seen as paying for extension services to enhance farming and creating job for the youths in this value chain of modern technology transfer as they will be mentor by government extension agents at the end of the day, agro inputs dealers will also link up with them and become very useful to them and there will be lot of activities linking the communities with one another. In the process, when the project expires, the beneficiaries will become private extension agents that farmers will be consulting for farming technology transfer at a pay. Doing this is will mean creation of job and employment in several ways.

What is the modality for the selection of just three states?
This is a pilot project and we are starting with those states that are facing serious agro ecological problem like weather condition and agrological problem etc. now we are starting with Sokoto, Kebbi and FCT. FCT is actually in the Guinea Savannah, while Sokoto and Kebbi are in the Sahel where climatic condition is not too tolerable for agriculture. But if this project is successful, it will be scaled up to other states because every state has its own climatic challenges.

Who are the funders of this project?
This project is funded by USAID with Catholic Relief services (CRS) which is a consortium as there are other organizations called SSFL, Mercy Corps and Making sent. These four organizations are working together to manage the project but the major and lead organization is the Catholic Relief Service. Now this project is not working directly on its own, but it is working through the local Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) while we also collaborate with major agencies like the Ministries of Agriculture, the ADPs and local government so that when we leave it will become sustainable. Now the most important things is that we are also working with the Federation of the Women Association of Nigeria. They are faith based Organization and other NGOs we are working with are CHAIN, REWARD, JDPC and Diamond Development Initiatives.