FADAMA III AF, Activities and Successes in the Nation’s Food Security

The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh after an interface with World Bank team in his office

Introduction

The story of crops and livestock production in the last decade will not be completed without making reference to Federal Government (FG)-World Banking Assisted Fadama Project I, II, and III which has now been extended to Additional Financing (AF) which is tailored to the present administration’s economic diversification of eco-system agribusiness commercialization to empower and create wealth to rural dwellers.

 At the inception of President Muhammudu Buhari administration , the economic re positioning of the country took a new direction with emphasis on using the real sector of agricultural production, processing and marketing to create wealth and job for teeming population , and  ensure food security through commercial productivity of friendly eco system round the year, using rain-fed and improved irrigation technology.

During the interface with the World Bank team

Fadama III AF under the auspices Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) being a model already on ground therefore had to scale up its implementation strategy to helping the Government at all levels to achieve its commercialization dream through an accelerated backward integration, using the New Green Agricultural policy of the Federal Government initiated by the Honourable Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh, even as stakeholders have called for the programme’s  expansion so as to be able to accommodate more farmers across the federation.

At the 2016 National Council of Agriculture (NCA) held in Kano State, the proposal presented by the Fadama team for the expansion of the programme to the other States of the federation in addition to the initial six Core states, namely-Anambra, Enugu, Kano, Kogi, Lagos and Niger in the production of rice, cassava, sorghum and tomato along the value chains, received a positive nod of the council members as it was approved for immediate action.

Visit to a FADAMA Group rice Plantation

However, the programme implementation strategy involves giving support to clusters of farmers in the selected states cultivating crops in which they have comparative advantage and high potential to increase productivity of cassava, rice, sorghum and horticulture value chains as priority crops, and also linking producers to better organized markets including the staple crop processing zones when established.

The involvement of the cluster groups who are farmers at the rural areas in all the decisions taking have positively impacted on the programme as beneficiaries claim ownership responsibility to all the demand driven infrastructure that are being provided, which is a plus many have commended Fadama III AF for.  

In the two years since President Muhammed Buhari  came into office, the agricultural policy focus of the Fadama III AF has tilted to States concentrating on crops of their comparative advantage following the

New Green Agricultural policy of FMARD, so as to maximize productivity and profits, thereby taking agriculture as business with the incorporation of best agronomic practice through constant training and appropriate use of inputs cum processing and marketing with lots of successes and achievements recorded.

Basically, the objective of the programme is aimed to increasing the income for users of rural land and water resources in the Fadama areas in a sustainable business manner as report has shown that over 110.097 beneficiaries including 65.679 males (59.2%) and 23,604 females (21.3%) and 21, 657 youths (19.5) have been positively impacted by Fadama III AF activities  in the year 2017 alone, and this has contributed to poverty reduction, boost food security and helped in the key achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as resources are directly delivered to beneficiary communities in efficient and effective ways.

The best agronomic practice the Fadama III AF exploited gave a noticeable positive development to the beneficiaries at all the Clusters Production States as adoption of new technology ranging from improved nursery practices, green house uses, waste to wealth management, Sawah technology, line planting and the use of improved rice seed by 19,070 farmers across the six core states in Nigeria was a plus to the project with the use of e- voucher and accompanying Advisory services being deployed to farmers in all the participating states.

Evidence of the Fadama III AF in the rural infrastructure in the Core states reflected a total numbers of culvert constructed along with access roads with total numbers of 276 in progression of ( Kogi 28, Anambra 21, Enugu 138, Kano 56, Lagos 12, Niger 21) while 207.58 Kilometre access road were also built in a spread order of 51 locations including ( Enugu-56.89km, Kogi-35.82Km, Lagos-13.6Km, Kano-35.15Km and Niger-31.1 Km).