FCT Fadama Cares disburses grants to 3,707 groups

The FCT Fadama Cares has disbursed grants to 3,707 Fadama Community Associations for the 2023/2024 dry season farming in the territory.

Speaking during the flag off of the disbursement at the Fadama Office in Gwagwalada Area Council on Thursday, the FCT Minister of State, Hajiya Mariya Mahmoud, said the objective of the FCT Fadama Cares programme was to increase food security and safe functioning of food supply chains in the territory.

She disclosed that the FCT Administration (FCTA) allocated $4.5m to the FCT Fadama Cares to implement three Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) out of a total allocation of $15m made available to the FCTA by the World Bank for implementation of the programme.

She further said the FCTA and the World Bank had set a target for the FCT Fadama Cares to provide grants support to 12,283 individual farmers, as well as upgrade 17 wet markets across the FCT.

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She said, “This programme is deliberately designed to support the recovery of livelihood activities of poor and vulnerable households engaged in agricultural value chains in the FCT with special consideration to women and unemployed youths.”

Also speaking, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola, listed other delivery platforms implementing result areas of the FCT Cares to include FCT Cash Transfer Unit, FCT Community and Social Development Project, noting that the Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA) had since commenced implementation of their respective DLIs.

On his part, the FCT Fadama Cares Coordinator, Usman Adangara, said the office earlier organised a training to build the capacities of the beneficiaries.

City & Crime further reports that other items distributed include fertilisers, seeds, agro-chemicals, sprayers and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for crop farmers; grinding machines, day-old chickens and feeds.