ATASP-1: Excitement galore as farmers, other beneficiaries plead for extension

It was excitements and praises galore as farmers, processors, local government officials, seed producers, rural dwellers and other stakeholders expressed their heartfelt appreciation for the various interventions provided by the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase-One (ATASP-1).

ATASP-1 project, funded by African Development Bank (AfDB), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and seven participating state governments is meant for the infrastructural development of the 200 rural communities in 33 local government areas across seven states of the Federation. The components of the project are economic empowerment, access road for inputs supply and produce evacuation, provision of health facility centres with good drinkable water through boreholes powered by solar energy and educational support in terms of classrooms building.

Food Farm News’ visit to the host communities of the programs in all the seven states which include, Enugu-Anambra, Kano-Jigawa, Niger, Kebbi-Sokoto revealed that great jobs have been done in every of the communities as there were evidences of increase in production, productivity, job creation, income generation and wealth creation along the three value chain of cassava, rice and sorghum and this has resulted into beneficiaries asking for the continuity and extension of the project to other crops and livestock.

A traditional ruler in Niger state, Alhaji Yusuf Nuhu, the Etsu of Agaie, told our correspondent in his palace that the impact of ATASP-1 was something that one could not easily forget in terms of job creations and empowerment of the youths and women, and therefore demanded that the programme be extended to phase 2 so as to accommodate more comparative crops and livestock processing.

As we speak, the impact of training of farmers and processors on the best Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) on rice, sorghum and cassava have added about 255,749 metric tons of food crops to the national food reserve just as the program has been able to create about 331,757 new jobs since inception in February, 2016. And the selection of communities was based on crops comparative advantage, while the provision of social facility also was on the basis of priority of people’s need according to the National Project Coordinator (NPC), Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Arabi.

On cassava value chain, the program has been able to increase revenue to the tune of 862.84 million naira coupled with introduction of improved varieties alongside training of over 12,000 farmers that has resulted to increase yield of 250% which is above the baseline figure of 10 metric tons per hectare to 25MT per hectare.

Overall, 119,733.80MTof rice paddy has been added to the national food basket which translates to estimated revenue of 17.96 billion naira. These interventions have led to yield increases of about 372% from 1.8MT per ha to an average of 6.7MT per ha during the period said the NPC.

In the sorghum value chain, all efforts have resulted in yield increase from 1.0 metric ton per hectare ( MT/ha) at baseline to 2.0 MT/ha representing 75.50% and an estimated 78,850.11MT of sorghum added to the national food basket, while the revenue accruable is 10.25 billion naira

The project component is spelt out as

1.      Component 1: Infrastructure Development

The infrastructure development component accounts for 70% of the total program cost. It finances the construction and/or rehabilitation of social infrastructure, rural feeder roads linking production clusters to markets and, moribund irrigation infrastructure. The program targets for infrastructure projects were said to have been revised downwards due largely to inflation, exchange rate fluctuations leading to significant increases in prices of goods and services coupled the fact that the scope of sub-projects which were not fully defined at appraisal.

Social infrastructure: The social/ancillary infrastructure works such as health clinics, water & sanitation, community markets, technology development centres etc. are being implemented across the four Processing Zone Implementation Units (PZIU)s. A total of 113 social infrastructures already completed out of 173 structures that were awarded representing 65% full completion rate.The low completion rate could be attributed to, (i) inadequate capacity of contractors to handle many structures within the period of 6 months, (ii) poor contract management and (iii) delay in payment of certified work.

Rural Feeder Roads: The procurement process for the construction of a total of 466.407 km of rural feeder roads is in progress. 13 feeder roads/bridge contracts was advertised, 7 contracts have been given no objection, while 6 are awaiting no objection by the Bank.

 

Irrigation Infrastructure: The Bank has given 13 no objection out of 17 contracts that was advertised and evaluated, 4 contracts are awaiting no objection by the Bank.

1.      Component 2: Commodity Value Chain Development

The implementation of the commodity value chain development component was prefaced by identification and sensitization of 200 rural communities from the 7 states of the four Staple Crops Processing Zones (SCPZ)s and networking and profiling of 44,647 farmers (of which 13,357 or 30% were female), representing 127.56% of program target of 35,000. In addition, 1,941 groups comprising farmers/producers from the three value chains have been formed and registered.

To ensure sustainability of program benefits at the community level, 48 innovation platforms (IPs) were established along the different commodity value chains. The IPs amongst others, have been critical in facilitating linkages between the farmers’ organizations (FOs), farm input dealers, extension agents, off-takers and markets in the four SCPZs.A total number  of 3,795 (of which 1,466 or 45.81% are female) just as these people have been sensitized on HIV/AIDS and other prevalent diseases to enhance their productivity and wellbeing.

Technology Adaptation and Diffusion

The Outreach Program adopted three strategies to foster technology adaptation and diffusion: (i) varietal selection for various locations, (ii) capacity building of Farmers’ Organizations (FOs) on GAP and, (iii) demonstration of proven production technologies through establishment of demonstration plots on the farmer’s fields. All these have added up to 67,570 beneficiaries (of which 18,104 are females)in agribusiness and entrepreneurship in each of the commodity value chains across the zones. A total number 427producers and entrepreneurs have obtained loans (of which 132 or 32% are women) for economic purposes which have resulted in the sum ofN58.58 Million of loan obtained. The program has successfully facilitated the linkage of producers to 29 off-takers across the four SCPZ as follows,

·         Cassava (7): 6in Adani-Omor and 1 in Kano-Jigawa;

·         Rice (16): 3 each in Kebbi-Sokoto, Kano-Jigawa and Bida-Badeggi ; 7 in Adani-Omor

·         Sorghum (6): the six major off-takers (i.e., Honey Well Flour Mills, Derivatives Ltd, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills, Grand Cereals & Oil Mills Ltd, LoryB Ventures and, El Shaddai Foods Nigeria Ltd) service all four SCPZs.

It is worthy of note that ATASP-1 had made some of the off-takers key into providing inputs support to farmers on buy-back arrangements. Within the framework of building the capacities of youth in agribusiness, three youth training centres have been constructed at the IITA-Abuja Station, Kubwa; Minjibir in Kano State and, Onne in Rivers State.

The implementation arrangement as provided in the program document was modified in line with the policy direction of the present administration in Agriculture as provided for in the Green Alternative document of Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMARD).The policy oversight and guidance role of ATASP-1 is now performed by the National Steering Committee (NSC), chaired by the substantive minister, FMARD, Alhaji Sabo Nanono. Also, the Commodity Value Chain Development component of ATASP-1 is being implemented in collaboration with three CGIARs (i.e., IITA, AfricaRice and ICRISAT) through an Outreach agreement signed with IITA. In this regard, IITA provides leadership to the participating CGIAR centres in the implementation of outreach program in addition to their responsibility for the Cassava Value chain, while AfricaRice and ICRISAT have responsibilities for rice and sorghum respectively.

 

Achievements in Kano-Jigawa zone

Feelings were upbeat in all the communities and villages around Kano and Jigawa states where Food Farm News met the beneficiaries of Agricultural Transformation  Agenda Support Program Phase 1 (ATASP-1) who commended the uniqueness and holistic approach of the programme to comparative crops productivity with regards to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), inputs distribution and construction of rural access roads, schools, potable water and clinics for the rural populace in order to checkmate rural-urban migration.

The Zonal Program Coordinator, Alhaji Auwalu Ado Shehu said the program had positively impacted both on direct and indirect beneficiaries and that farmers were already pleading for its extension. As part of the improvements on production activities, he listed the round-the-year production that was now the order of the day; the drastic reduction in social vices usually occasioned by unemployment in the eleven local governments in the zone i.e. five in Jigawa and the six others in Kano state where irrigation farming would have boost because the program was developing irrigation facilities up to1,270 and1,141hectares, respectively. All these were in addition to about 36.5km feeder roads being constructed in all the nooks and crannies of the participating communities in Kano, while about 44.5 km were being constructed in Jigawa.

He added: ‘‘So far the program has profiled close to 10,000 farmers who are direct beneficiaries. But when it comes to the indirect beneficiaries, I tell you we cannot quantify them yet because the program has direct and indirect impacts on the people across farmers, agro input dealers, marketers, processors, fabricators, youth and women seed producers.’’

The Chairman, Auyo Local Government Area, Jigawa State, Hon. Alhaji Umar Musa Kalgwai expressed his appreciation on the market that was being constructed and the progress achieved in the construction of community feeder roads that links some communities in Kafin Hausa and Miga Local Government Areas to Auyo Local Government Area and asked for the completion of the projects and as well demanded for the extension of ATASP-1.

Mallam Suleiman Isah who spoke on behalf of the Bunkure ‘Yantsaba Rice Market said that the market built by ATASP-1 had helped in their rice business as they had been able to make more profit through increased patronage from people who come to the market, saying that ‘‘we are enjoying the new market now, whenever people come to buy other things and they see the market they always come around and we tell them this is our newly built market by ATASP-1.’’

He continued: “If there are opportunities for the program to continue for us to get more buildings like the market and equipments to work with, we will be glad to see more of the project so that we can develop more in rice production.”

Another rice processor, Mallam Mohammed Safiyanu applauded the impact of the market on the earnings of people as against when there wasn’t such project like Yantsaba rice market saying things were very difficult then as he added “we were also trained on how to package our rice and also to convince the customers to buy our produce; and the fact that we are having a structured place has brought more customers from different places to patronize us. We are really grateful to ATASP and we will really want the program to continue so that we can gain more knowledge.”

The leader of newly-formed Women Sorghum Farmers Association in Hadiyo a community in Auyo local Government Area, Jigawa state, Salamatu Muhammad revealed that her association’s members had got 8.0 kg of sorghum seeds from ATASP-1, adding it has positively impacted on our yield tremendously.

She stated further that with the help of the program they were able to put together an association with 22 members, pointed that  “with the effort put in us by ATASP-1 we are able to produce high quality flour from sorghum which has been used to make bread, cakes, doughnut, noodles, biscuits and so on.”

Hajiya Muhammad who said the program also trained members on good agronomic practices and commodity value chain development on rice and sorghum, said: “we were given support and palliative from ATASP-1 and ICRISAT which is what you are seeing today. The program has tried for us and we pray it continues.”

At Yalwa community in Kano our correspondent was told by Alhaji Isah Usman, one of the farmers, that the construction of rural feeder roads by ATASP-1 program, for crops evacuation from the farms, and building of a new school classroom block (in a community where pupils had been studying under trees since (1970s) had been very helpful.

He said the community was highly grateful for the new classroom block with headmasters office and a store, toilet and incinerator for the use of the community, saying “before now, the buildings which had been in existence since 1970 had never been renovated, and had become dilapidated leaving the students to study under the sun, while they were usually forced to close down during the rainy season in order to avoid being beaten by rain. The recent construction of the feeder road in the community was done within four weeks and this has reduced many hazards such as cases of sicknesses among people and maternal mortality while being taken to the hospital which now take less than 3-4 minutes.’’   

Usman concluded that currently with the new road network the community now had four to 10 trucks coming into the community to convey farm produce to other states, and that “this had also increased the peoples’ income and living standard.”

The Secretary, Cassava Innovation Platform,Danladi Isah Kila said that farmers in Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa state were very lucky to be a part of ATASP-1 as they had got a lot of training on how to improve cassava productivity in the area, “although we have been farming cassava for long but with the coming of the project we have gained more knowledge and experience on how to process quality cassava into different derivatives with women involvement.”

Kila said that members of the association were supported with seedlings, especially cassava, by ATASP-1 while also a cassava processing centre established by the program in the community would soon be fully handed over to the group, explaining that it would help to improve the productivity of cassava in larger quantity and into different products. He added that there was presently a great improvement on how cassava was being currently produced by the members, noting that the coming of the program had brought a new improved method for planting through harvesting to processing which were now done by the women.

Said he, "before now, we used to produce cassava only, but now we produce more as we and the women farmers are now together: We farm the cassava, and we give it to women to process after which they send the finished products to the market, so we have really improved. We have really learnt so much on cassava productivity, and we are really grateful to ATASP-1 and we really hope that the program continues so that more farmers will gain more experience on cassava flour, starch and other products production.’’

A woman leader on cassava processing, Hajiya Dada Kani also from Ranbazau village in Tsangarwa community of Gwaram Local Government Area, Jigawa state buttressed the above, saying that members were able to produce 1,000 bags (of 50 kg) of garri within a period of two months as there were buyers from Yobe and other neighbouring states, added that she hoped to get more assistance from the program with more training on cassava processing into various derivatives.

Muhammad Lawal is a fabricator whose workshop is in Hadejia  Local Government Area of Jigawa State who disclosed that he got his training from ATASP-1 in National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM), Ilorin on fabrication of planters, threshers for rice, sorghum, wheat, maize and millet and that he was later taken to IITA Ibadan for the training on how to fabricate cassava grater, chipper, fryer and grinding machine “and now that we have been trained, we are now making use of the knowledge acquired to earn a better living as patronage has increased my economic status.”

He added that “before the coming of the program, we were only repairing machines for people for over 20 years, not fabricating; but after the training we started fabricating different types of threshers.  In fact I will say that the program has changed my life in just three years after I was trained. I am married now, I have a car now, I get more income, I have travelled to Mecca and I don't work more than eight hours a day. I have also been able to train more people on my own and we have customers coming from neighbouring states like Yobe, Gombe, and Bauchi and within Jigawa State." (To be continued in the next edition).