The Federal Government of Nigeria, has declared bumper harvest in rice and cassava production among farmers in Nasarawa State.
The crops cultivated under the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) during the 2025 farming season is in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Programme Coordinator of the FGN/IFAD VCDP, for Nasarawa State, Dr Eunice Adgidzi, made the disclosure at a one-day media roundtable in Lafia, the State capital.
She explained that when the programme commenced in 2020, farmers were broadcasting rice rather than setting up nurseries to transplant them, which resulted in waste of seeds.
The Programme Coordinator however stated that with several trainings and capacity building, the farmers were able to improve their skills about rice production.
Dr Adgidzi noted that the yield of rice has improved significantly, with farmers now able to produce up to 4.5 metric tons per hectare, compared to their previous yield and attributed the development to the provision of certified seeds that are disease-resistant and drought-tolerant.
“The yield of cassava has also improved, with farmers now able to produce up to 2 metric tons per hectare.
Dr Adgidzi explained that the program provided certified seeds to the farmers, which are resistant to diseases and drought.
She also highlighted the three components through which VCDP is being implemented saying “Market Development Component: This component focuses on profitability enhancement of smallholder farmers and small/medium scale agro-processors delivered through improved access to markets and value addition to locally produced raw materials.
“Smallholder Productivity Enhancement Component: This component focuses on enhancement of smallholder farmer productivity on an economically and environmentally sustainable basis.
“Programme Coordination and Management Component: This component ensures that the program is efficiently and effectively managed to achieve expected results by integrating gender, youth, environment, monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management, and communication considerations in all aspects of the programme.”
On his part, Mr Samson Jonah Akwe, Knowledge Management and Communication Officer, FGN/IFAD-VCDP in the State, emphasised the importance of journalists understanding the expectations of VCDP donors when reporting.
He highlighted some of the achievements of VCDP in the state, including the construction of commodity aggregation centers, culverts, and markets stores, as well as rice and cassava processing centers across some local government areas from 2021-2025.
“An aggregation center in Ashangwa Rice Innovation Platform and a rice processing center in Wamba LGA.
“Rice Processing Centres: A rice processing center with a drying shed, drying slab, and a crèche for Kauna-Maiday MPCS in Doma LGA.
“Irrigation Facilities: Small-scale irrigation facilities, irrigation pumps, rice threshers, mini rice transplanters, and rice reapers in some communities in the state,” he said.
He appreciated the journalists for their reportage throughout the year and highlighted the components of success stories when reporting VCDP.
He urged journalists to ensure accuracy in the reporting and documentation of the programme’s activities in the state, in order to ensure its development and sustainability.
