Ogun Releases N124.3m Counterpart Fund To Boost Rice, Cassava Value Chain

Ogun Releases N124.3m Counterpart Fund To Boost Rice, Cassava Value Chain

 Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosu (middle), IFAD Nigeria Country Programme Manager, Ms Atsuko Toda (left) and National Programme Coordinator-Value Chain Development Programme during a courtesy visit to Government House in Abeokuta.
Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosu (middle), IFAD Nigeria Country Programme Manager, Ms Atsuko Toda (left) during a courtesy visit to Government House in Abeokuta.
Poised to increase local production and marketing of its premium rice popularly known as Ofada rice and cassava products,Ogun State Government hasinvested the sum of N124.3million as counterpart fund to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).
The VCDP is a Federal Government of Nigeria and IFAD initiative that is supporting cassava and rice value chains for smallholder farmers in six states of Benue Anambra, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba.
Ogun is the only state that has paid counterpartfunds for the state for 2014 and 2015. Benue released the sum of N87 million as counterpart financing for 2015, Taraba and Ebonyi paid N37 million each for 2014 while Anambra and Niger released N15 million and 14.3 million respectively for 2014.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by IFAD to the government house in Abeokuta, Governor IbikunleAmosun said the state wants to commercialize production of ofada rice and cassava to boost the state’s economy. “We want to feed Nigeria and even West Africa sub-region that’s why we are called the gateway state”
Governor Amosunsaid with the dwindling fortunes of oil revenue, the state is focusing on agriculture amongst others areas to improve the lot of the state.
“We were at the Nigerian Economic Summit recently and we dwelt so much on the importance of diversifying our economy. Oil is good for us but will not solve our problem. Agriculture will help engage unemployed youth. Those days we did not discover oil, our economy was better. We have to go back to Agriculture and take advantage of the value chain it offers”
While thanking IFAD for the technical assistance, Amosun said he would personally monitor the progress of the project to ensure the desired objectives are achieved in the state.
In her remarks, IFAD Nigeria Country Programme Manager, Ms Atsuko Todatold the governor that VCDP had sensitized farmers in three local government areas of the state to see agriculture as a business.
Toda disclosed that IFAD would match the state’s counterpart financing by four to five times adding that IFAD believes in the capacity of the state government to boost agricultural production especially for rice and cassava.