From Our Correspondent
Abuja, Dec. 12, ’25 (TNZ) The Federal Government and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have created more than 11,000 permanent jobs through the agribusiness support initiatives under the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).
TheNewsZenith reports that Dr Fatima Aliyu, National Programme Coordinator of VCDP, announced this at a media roundtable on Thursday in Abuja.
Aliyu said the programme had generated 11,890 permanent jobs, comprising 3,128 women, 2,710 men and 6,052 youths who now own various agribusiness ventures.
She noted that the intervention had helped reduce rural-urban migration, especially among young people.
According to her, the programme also provides income-generating opportunities for vulnerable women and persons with disabilities.
“Our main objective at VCDP is to move smallholder farmers from subsistence to micro enterprises.
“Rice farmers benefiting from the project now produce five to six tonnes per hectare, while cassava farmers record about 30 tonnes per hectare.
“We also trained youth farmers on rice seed and cassava stem production. They now produce and sell rice seeds and cassava stems to communities.
“This has made many of them entrepreneurs, wealth creators and job creators across the benefiting states,” TheNewsZenith quotes Aliyu as saying.
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She said VCDP attained the milestone through proper profiling of beneficiaries and strong engagement with government at all levels, religious and community leaders, as well as the media.
The Coordinator added that the programme also prioritised continuous training of farmers on good agricultural practices.
It introduced dry season rice farming and value chain financing among other interventions.
Aliyu highlighted insecurity, adverse effects of climate change, and high input costs driven by inflation, and low literacy levels among farmers as factors limiting adoption of innovative farming techniques.
These challenges, she added are the major challenges militating against the implementation of the VCDP project.
Also speaking, Mr Nura Lawal, Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor of IFAD-VCDP in Abuja, said the IFAD project focused on rice and cassava value chains in nine states.
Lawal listed Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Enugu and Taraba as the beneficiary states.
According to him, the programme is designed to boost productivity, improve market access, enhance value addition and create jobs. (TNZ)
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