553 Enugu Farmers Receive N250m Agro Equipment

More than 500 smallholder farmers in Enugu State have received agricultural equipment worth over N250 million to improve production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava.

The 553 beneficiaries received the equipment through the Federal Government and International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, Value Chain Development Programme, VCDP, at Okpara Square in Enugu.

They were drawn from Aninri, Enugu East, Isi-Uzo, Nkanu East and Udenu Local Government Areas, and include farmers, processors and marketers.

The State Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, Dr Edward Isiwu, said the intervention was aimed particularly at supporting women and young people while reducing post-harvest losses and improving value addition.

“Smallholder farmers remain the backbone of agricultural production, but they face challenges including drudgery, high post-harvest losses and limited opportunities for value addition,” Isiwu said.

The equipment includes 87 tricycles, power tillers, rice grinding machines, rice hullers and polishers, bag sealers, as well as cassava and rice processing machines.

Other items include fufu-pounding machines, destoners, threshers, digital weighing scales, energy-efficient cooking stoves, knapsack sprayers, nutrient-dense food processing equipment, petrol-powered water pumps and solar-powered irrigation pumps.

Point-of-Sale machines and smart weather readers were also distributed to support financial inclusion and improve farmers’ access to information and services.

Isiwu said the equipment was procured under a cost-sharing arrangement in which beneficiaries contributed 30 per cent, while IFAD provided 70 per cent, with the total intervention valued at more than N250 million.

He urged beneficiaries to protect and maintain the equipment, saying they were productive assets meant to serve cooperatives and communities and must not be sold.

“Use it productively. Maintain it. Protect it. And, most importantly, let it generate value,” Isiwu said.

He commended Governor Peter Mbah for supporting the programme and paying the state’s counterpart funding, saying the contribution had strengthened the partnership and enabled continued support for farmers.

Isiwu said the state government had also supported farmers with fertilisers, agrochemicals, rice seedlings and cassava cuttings, adding that the latest intervention was timely ahead of the harvest season.

Representing Governor Mbah, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the intervention was part of the administration’s agricultural transformation agenda.

He said the focus should extend beyond production to processing, packaging, storage, transportation and access to markets.

“The equipment will help reduce the burden on farmers, minimise post-harvest losses and improve the profitability of agricultural activities,” Onyia said, speaking on behalf of the governor.

Mbah said the state wanted farmers to become entrepreneurs, employers of labour, processors and aggregators capable of contributing more to the wider economy.

He commended the Federal Government, IFAD, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Enugu State Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation and the State Programme Management Unit for their collaboration.

The governor also called for wider interventions to reach more farmers and rural communities across the state.

The National Programme Coordinator of FGN/IFAD-VCDP, Dr Fatima Aliyu, represented by Mr Musa Dalang, Rural Institutions, Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Adviser, urged beneficiaries to maximise the opportunity, expand their investments and build sustainable businesses.

The programme, he said, was intended to translate productive assets into stronger agricultural enterprises and improved livelihoods.

For rice farmer Mr Okorie Arinze of Aninri, the intervention could make a direct difference to his business.

He said the tricycle he received would help him transport farm produce to market and meet other business needs.

Arinze said he contributed N900,000, representing 30 per cent of the N3 million cost of the tricycle, adding that it would reduce the difficulties associated with transporting his produce.

The Enugu VCDP began operations in the state in 2020 and has since supported more than 9,000 farmers, particularly women and young people, through agro-inputs, equipment, infrastructure and market linkages.

The programme focuses on improving income and food security through the rice and cassava value chains. It currently operates in nine Nigerian states.