Oyo, Ogun, other farmers to earn €9.7m annually from Netherlands funded HortiNigeria project

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3 years ago

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The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria has awarded the HortiNigeria Program to International Fertiliser Development Center (IFDC) and its consortium partners East-West seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT), Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and KIT Royal Tropical Institute.

The project which is projected to generate €9.7 million Euros is being implemented by the IFDC in four states of the federation. Among the targets include 50 per cent youth and 40 per cent women.

The four-year program, which will be officially launched on Thursday, is also aimed at supporting Nigeria in building a sustainable and gender- and youth inclusive horticulture sector that contributes to food and nutrition security in the country.

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The programme is part of an enhancement in the bilateral relations between The Netherlands and Nigeria.

HortiNigeria is implemented in Kano, Kaduna, Ogun and Oyo States, focusing on tomato, okra, onion, and peppe value chains, and will work through four components. All activities are focused on vegetables for domestic markets.

The program intends to boost the productivity and income of 60,00 smallholder farmers (50% youth and 40% women) by introducing eco-efficient agronomic practices. Acreage under sustainable cultivation will be increased by 15,000 hectares.

The Project is also expected to reduce the seasonal risks by promoting innovations and regional diversifications to 2,000 entrepreneurial farmers.

Additionally, the program will increase access to finance for 50 agricultural-related SMEs and enhance sector coordination and will facilitate 200 business-to-business linkages in all four states.

According to the Embassy of the Netherland’s First Secretary on Food Security and Climate, Mariska Lammers, this program is part of an enhancement in the bilateral relations between The Netherlands and Nigeria.

She said “it is very exciting to see our largest food security program in Nigeria taking off. The horticulture sector here offers many opportunities and we believe The Netherlands can add the most value. Nigeria is currently unable to meet the local demand for
vegetables with a supply gap of 13 million metric tons.

The horticultural sector employs a high number of women and youth and increased horticultural production will lead to better availability and affordability of nutritious foods.”

Mohammed Salasi Idris, the Program Director of HortiNigeria, stated that at the end of 2025 HortiNigeria would paint a story about 60,000 motivated farmers producing more and better-quality vegetables for the market, with an annual incremental value of 9.7million Euros.

Many of these farmers according to him will be young and many will be women injecting energy, which will accelerate the development of a healthy vibrant vegetable sector benefiting the rural communities in which they live as well as the entire country.

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