NAN-AE-2
Beneficiaries
By Kudirat Ogunyemi
Abuja, June 12, 2017 (NAN) Some beneficiaries of FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF) project in Oyo State say the project has impacted positively on the lives of the rural dwellers in the state.
Mr Giwa Lasisi, the Chairman of FADAMA Federated Community Association (FFCA) and Igba Otun Cassava Production Cluster, conveyed the beneficiaries’ appreciation in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
Lasisi said that the beneficiaries of the project’s cassava and rice value chains had witnessed positive changes with the adoption of good agronomic practices, which had increased their farm yields and revenue.
“FADAMA III AF project has helped its participants to move from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, and this has really improved our income and standard of living.
“We now package our rice and garri, and this has added value to our products, as we now sell in some supermarkets, unlike the local way we used to market our produce in the past,’’ he said.
Lasisi urged the Federal Government and the World Bank to fund the FFCA proposal which was submitted to the FADAMA National Office, adding that the proposed project would boost the productivity of FADAMA III AF project beneficiaries.
Also speaking, Mr Moses Babalola, the Caretaker Chairman, Kajola Local Government Council, said that the FADAMA III AF project had provided jobs for youths and women, while boosting food production in the state.
Babalola urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate roads, linking villages across the state, to facilitate the transportation of farm produce to markets by the production clusters.
Also, Mr Nath Olayinka, State Project Coordinator of FADAMA, said that the goals of the FADAMA III AF project had been achieved in the state.
Olayinka said that farmers in the state had been sensitised to their expectations in the FADAMA III AF project, while over 400 business plans for crop production and processing have been prepared, awaiting approval by the National Office.
NAN recalls that the mid-term review team, led by Mr Ahmed Shehu of the World Bank, recently visited Oyo State and expressed satisfaction over reports and on-the-field observations on FADAMA III AF project in the state. (NAN)
ROK/OFN/OOK
===========
Edited by Felix Nwadioha and Dayo Komolafe