The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Nigeria Country Director, Ms Dede Ekoue, has disclosed that a total of $1 billion (N428.61 billion) has been budgeted for three projects that will positively affect smallholder farmers in the country.
The projects are Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise Programme (LIFE-ND) and the Special Argo-Industrial Processing Zones Programme (SAPZ). The SAPZ programme will kick start soon.
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IFAD is an international financial institution and specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
The project is a partnership between the Federal Government of Nigeria and IFAD.
Speaking in Abuja yesterday during a joint workshop on Procurement and Financial Management for the FGN/IFAD-funded projects, Ekoue urged the two national Program Coordinators of VCDP and LIFE-ND, to accelerate the implementation of action plan developed during the workshop.
“We would like to reiterate the full commitment of IFAD to continue to partner closely with the Federal Government of Nigeria to improve the life of rural communities, to boost food systems transformation and enhance the contribution of agriculture to inclusive growth and job creation while ensuring sustainability and resilience to crisis and climate,” she said.
Director, Projects Coordinating Unit (PCU), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Engr. Ubandoma U, said the workshop was aimed at providing all the participants with the forum to learn, share experience, provide guidance and deepen their knowledge on project procurement and financial management.
“This workshop will go a long way in giving a deadly blow to miss procurement and ineligible expenses as this negative effect of procurement will no longer have a breathing space in the face of procurement,” he added.
