EXCLUSIVE: FG, AfDB give pass nod to ATAPS-Project says Arabi

The National Coordinator, Agricultural Transformation Agenda Programme (ATAPS-Project 1) Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Arabi 

The National Coordinator, Agricultural Transformation Agenda Programme (ATAPS-Project 1) Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Arabi said the no objection approval of the Federal Government (FG) and African Development Bank (AfDB) to the economic and social infrastructure projects to the rural farmers and other stakeholders across the four staple crop processing zones was a great achievement to wealth creation policy of the Government. Dr. Arabi told Food Farm News last week in his office.

 Arabi said that one great achievement the ATAPS-Project would want to upload for the world was being able to deliver economic and social infrastructures for enhanced productivity at the value chains of agricultural produce across all the seven states in the country including Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Enugu and Anambra.

He said contracts would soon be signed for the project continuity saying that rural feeder roads for evacuations with bridges and irrigation infrastructure have been built across the states to give accessibility to produce and round the year irrigation facilities that will increase production.

Other social facilities provided by the project according to Dr. Arabi included schools, health centres, water supplies, community rural markets and ventilated improved public toilets together with incinerators where refuse are burnt for cleaner environment.

The markets he said would reduce produce wastages while public toilets and incinerations provision are meant to increase hygienic environment and healthy productivity and the rural access roads would open up the communities to improved access to produce and other agricultural inputs and agro chemicals.

The ATAPS Coordinator added there are completion of training centres for capacity building for farmers, processors and marketers for enhancement of standard for produce towards being able to checkmate rejection.

It will be recalled that ‘’ African Development Bank (AFDB) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development developed the ATASP-1, adopting a holistic approach to tackling the challenges confronting agriculture in Nigeria. The both partners have funded the programme to the tune of $174.85m including grant facility. It was  a five-year programme that was later extended for additional  two years and become operative in February 2015.