USAID set to boost Agricbusiness in Kaduna

Rural smallholder farmers at work

A ground-breaking agricultural initiative tagged 'Feed the Future' under the aegis of USAID, has been unveiled in Kaduna state to strengthen the business enabling environment, promote private sector investment and broaden access to finance to boost food security, with special emphasis on the ease of doing business in the state's agricultural sector.

This renewed move, Cubinks learnt, is focused on seven states of Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger, where no fewer than five thousand small and medium enterprises are expected to receive credit from financial institutions to the tune of 200 million dollars between now and the end of the year 2023, for accelerated agricultural development.

Apart from empowering small and medium enterprises in the sector, 'Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, with Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture(CNFA), as the prime implementing partner, aims to viably and sustainably link thousands of micro, small and medium size enterprises(MSMEs) and producer organizations with high-performing commercial actors in the rice, maize, soybean, aquaculture and cowpea value chains.

Declaring the Agribusiness Finance and Investment Summit open, Kaduna state Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the newly-created Ministry of Business and Innovation and Technology, Dr Haliru Musa Soba, reiterated the state government's commitment and determination to move the agricultural sector to enviable heights, noting that the coming of the USAID's Feed the Future project into the state was timely and would undoubtedly lead to a win-win situation for the state.

Responding, Managing Director/Chief of Party of the five-year agricultural programme, Dr Adam Saffer, expressed delight over the impressive turnout of all stakeholders in the sector, assuring that given the enormous potentials of Kaduna state in the field of agriculture, coupled with streamlined regulations, more effective policies, improved production and processing practices as well as significantly increased finance and investment flows, the project would increase competitiveness and returns of both large and small scale agricultural enterprises in the state.

While maintaining that the essence of the project was to identify the challenges, opportunities and solutions and see how agriculture could become a profitable venture for all stakeholders in the sector, Dr Saffer explained that the project would also work assiduously towards expanding access to financial services across the value chain, through informal, community-based savings plans; formal and informal credit guarantee programmes; and insurance offerings as the case may be.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the state's Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Sani Sabiu, who spoke on the need to create a more conducive environment for agribusiness investment, disclosed that the state recently procured 300 tractors as part of its renewed effort to make the sector more attractive and technologically-driven to enhance and promote what he called out-grower/off-taker relationship in the sector.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Da All-Green Seeds Limited, a Kaduna-based seed company, Engr Stephen Yakubu Atar - one the resource persons at the event - in a brief interview with Correspondents, commended the effort of USAID for championing the Feed the Future project, revealing that his outfit is working tirelessly in the area of improving seeds and seedlings for increased productivity and profitability in sector.

The one-day finance and investment summit which attracted experts from the Bank of Agriculture, Agronomists, Finance Managers, micro, small and medium size enterprises, cooperative societies, individual farmers and other critical stakeholders in the state's agricultural sector, ended with the organizers' assurance that it would facilitate 200 million dollars in new lending and 100 million dollars in new investment across the seven states earmarked for the project.

Comments

Kaduna COVID-19 Lockdown, People Living with Disabilities and Inclusion

Chairman JONAPWD, Abdulaziz Suleiman , (Right) and a colleague (Middle) in a chat with CALPED's Yusuf Goje By SMITH WAYA Before the index case of Corona virus (Covid-19) in Nigeria, the Kaduna state government held a public hearing on the proposed Kaduna state social protection policy, in line with the administration's slogan of putting the people first. The Joint National Associations of Person with Disability(JONAPWD), Kaduna chapter, as the umbrella body for people living disabilities in the State, were invited to present a position paper on their expectations of the new policy. The Disability Community took advantage of the town-hall meeting to appeal to the state government to work assiduously towards reducing poverty and hunger in their household. The Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, assured them of the state government's commitment in ensuring that no one is left behind especially people living with disabilities. Incidently, as the State governm...

Jema'a Council boss seeks support of civil society on OGP

I n his bid to institutionalize the ongoing local government reforms in Kaduna state especially the principles of Open Government Partnership (OGP), the Chairman of Jema'a Local Government Council has solicited support of civil society in promoting transparency, accountability and improve service delivery that would impact positively on the lives of the people in his local government. Council Chairman, Hon Danjuma Peter Averik, who made this known when he paid a courtesy visit to officials of Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn(PERL/DFID) in their Kaduna office, said his visit became necessary to solicit for partnership against the backdrop of his passionate desire to engender transparency and accountability in his administration. "I am here to seek for collaboration that can help in institutionalizing key local government reforms especially the OGP and Local Government Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (LFTAS) program towards improvin...

Reflecting on Kaduna State's Commitment to Open Budget

By YUSUF GOJE T he present administration of Governor Nasir Ahmed El-rufai, since coming into office in 2015, has initiated a number of reforms. These reforms are aimed at strengthening the State’s public finance management system and improving public service delivery to the residents. The reforms are rooted in key laws such as the Fiscal Responsibility Law, Public Procurement Law, Tax Codification & Consolidation Law, Public Finances Law all in 2016, and Planning & Budget Commission Law in 2017. They provide the mechanism for achieving the developmental and socio-economic aspiration in the State Development Plan (SDP, 2016-2020) through the Sectors Implementation Plan (SIP, 2016-2019) and annual budgets. The high point of these reform initiatives came in 2017 when the State government signed into the Open Government Partnership (OGP). In fact, making it the first subnational in Nigeria to do so and was later elevated as a member of OGP global in 2018. This was follo...

Outcry over a Woman's Inhumanity

DANGWA DANJUMA F ollowing intense investigation and reports by BREKETE FAMILY a flagship radio programme on Human Rights Radio and Television station focusing on human rights abuse, on how Deborah Babaji Longs, a personal assistant to Mrs Mariam Ahmodu Ali, spent three days in a dog’s cage without food or water, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested the wife of former People’s Democratic Party National Chairman and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Col. Ahmodu Ali (rtd). The story of Deborah Babaji Longs, who worked as Mariam’s personal assistant, featured on Human Rights Radio and Television aka ‘Berekete Family’ on Saturday March 26, 2022 following a report of her alleged imprisonment by Mariam Ahmodu Ali. Narrating her ordeal, Deborah told Brekete Family under oath that Col. Ahmodou Ali, his two daughters and a son-inlaw witnessed the life threatening humiliation and blows meted out to her by Mrs Ali in the middle of their living room in their Abu...

When competence matters in leadership recruitment

President Muhammadu Buhari DANGWA Danjuma T he tension that greeted Peter Obi’s walk out on the People’s Democratic Party included the concerns on availability of another competent partyman who will be worthy of the demand for the incorruptible leader to emerge vis a vis deputize when the chips are down. This also has been made easy by governor of Ebonyi, Engineer Dave Umahi’s exit from the party who would have stood out in the event that Obi falled shy of the Vice Presidential slot. This box around the party, underpinned by an outcry for national unity by nominating the South Eastern deputy in the second attempt of Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President, to dismiss the two term era of the incumbent All Progressive Congress on the premise that a good number of Nigerians will reconsider the PDP as a better alternative. However, viable options exist outside the South East for the PDP, particularly in the Niger Delta where state governors under the party hav...

Cubinks NEWS

Search This Blog