The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) has injected $24 million (about N8.7 billion) to boost local businesses and the agriculture sector of Nigeria through cooperative societies.
The Executive Director of Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI), the implementing partner for USADF projects in Nigeria, Mr Adamu Garba disclosed this at the weekend during a DDI Conference and Mini Agriculture Fair in Abuja.
Mr Garba said: “USADF has invested over $24 million in these cooperatives societies over the years. They are still working in Nigeria and we look forward to getting more assistance from them.”
He noted that USADF has impacted on 450,000 people in Africa from which 60 per cent are women.
In Nigeria, Garba said about 70 per cent of USADF programmes is in developing the agriculture value chain and businesses that have real impact in improving the livelihood of the rural people.
“I know Danladi Sidi, a rice farmer in Kano state whose yield has tripled because he has adopted improved agronomy practices and followed the technical assistance that has been provided,” Garba noted.
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr W. Stuart Symington lauded the interventions and the local farmers who are improving lives, saying “It is a great honour of my time of my life in Nigeria to hear of that transformation work that you are doing so much.”
