Rice production: 50 farmers receive over N7m in FADAMA grant

Fifty rice farmers in Oyo State are being supported with N7, 739,700 to improve “vigorous” rice production in the state, the Nigerian Tribune gathered on Friday, this is just as the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, urged farmers in the state to set the pace by increasing rice production to ensure food security in the country.

The minister, who spoke through Assistant Director, Horticulture, Federal Department of Agriculture, Abuja, Dr Oyeleke Abdulrazaq, charged the beneficiaries to key into Federal Government Sustainability Policy of promoting responsible use of land, water and other resources, to practice cultural eco-smart agriculture and ensure quality of their produce meets Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)’s standard for human consumption.

The minister spoke at the launch of dry season farming in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, on Friday.

Speaking at the launch, the National Project Coordinator, FADAMA III AF project, Adetayo Adewumi, said the dry season farming project was initiated to improve food security in Nigeria, while commending the State Government for timely support and the Oyo State FADAMA for involving farmers in dry season rice production.

Adewumi also said the programme would specifically target women and youth, who are interested in farming and other agriculture value chain services, saying that efforts are ongoing to establish an aggregate centre for to create a FADAMA’s farmers market and provide farm linkages for farmers in the state, provided the state government provides support for these projects.

According to Adewumi, technical advice would be put in place to enhance farmers’ knowledge on agricultural practice, assuring that considering massive land and water resources, the state could cultivate hundreds or thousands of hectares of land for rice production.

The state Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Oyewole Oyewumi, while declaring the launch open, said there was a need for urgent local food production to achieve food security in Nigeria, adding that farmers are being supported with over N7 million grant and agriculture inputs to further promote agriculture as “serious business.”

According to him, the launch of dry season rice farming and input distribution to rice producing groups would help the state in its commitment to employment generation, poverty reduction and food security through increased production of crops.

Oyewumi said state FADAMA coordination office had been very supportive in the state government’s implementation restoration and reposition agenda, while saying that the state has the potential, human resources and suitable lands that could be harnessed to grow rice for local consumption and to sell to international markets.

Oyewumi added that the state government has been promoting agriculture especially with the creation of enabling environment for investment in agriculture alongside value chain, and with the payment of the required annual counterpart fund of N35.3 million for the 2016, while assuring that expressing the year 2017 counterpart fund will also be paid soon.

He further disclosed that improved rice seeds and other inputs worth about N8 million for cultivation of 50 hectares of land have been distributed to rice farmers, along with other farm inputs.

Oyewumi added that under the state’s Oyo Agrik initiative, 15,000 farmers have been signed up for to participate in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Anchor Borrowers Programme, to participate in “production of increased commodities where the state has comparative advantage.”

Also speaking at the launch, the state project coordinator, Nathaniel Olayinka, said five production groups from Orelope, Kajola, Ibarapa and Ogbomoso North were supported, having fulfilled necessary conditions to access the fund.

He added that more groups are been processed for the funding for rain-fed production of rice and cassava, while enjoining farmers to make use of the inputs for increased production and improvement on their income.

Inputs distributed to the farmers, who are beneficiary of World Bank financed FADAMA III Additional Funding (AF) project, include pumping machines with complete accessories, agro-chemicals, fertilizers, sprayers and wheel barrows.