The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), through the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), have distributed farm inputs worth N373,000 each to 476 farmers in Taraba for the 2026 wet-season farming.
News men reports that beneficiaries were drown from eight Local Government Areas, including Ardo-Kola, Bali, Donga, Gassol, Jalingo, Karim-Lamido, Takum and Wukari.
The VCDP’s National Programme Coordinator (NPC), Dr Fatima Aliyu, while speaking at the event on Friday in Jalingo, said it was aimed at strengthening the nation’s production base.
Represented by the programme’s National Production Adviser, Alhaji Nura Daura, Aliyu said the intervention was aimed at strengthening farmers’ production capacity, improving their livelihoods and contributing to food security.
“This initiative is our continuous effort to strengthen the production base and enhance the livelihoods of our hardworking farmers, who are the backbone of our rural economy,” she said.
Aliyu said the support would also enable farmers to adopt improved and research-based farming practices capable of increasing productivity and income.
She appealed to the beneficiaries to make proper use of the inputs and ensure that the support translated into increased production.
The coordinator said under the VCDP matching grant scheme, each beneficiary contributed N186,500, representing 50 per cent of the total package, while the programme provided the remaining support.
The package, valued at N373,000 per farmer, comprised NPK and urea fertilisers, 50kg of rice seed and two litres of herbicides for pre- and post-emergence application.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Prof. Nicholas Namessan, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs Sarah Ali, appreciated the Federal Government, VCDP and the Taraba Government for sustaining support to farmers.
Namessan said previous interventions had helped farmers adopt improved farming technologies and increase the production of rice and cassava.
He said the support had also contributed to higher incomes and improved living conditions among beneficiaries, while strengthening food security.
The commissioner stressed the importance of agriculture to food security in Taraba and Nigeria, saying the state government would continue to support initiatives that improve farmers’ productivity.
Also speaking, the State Programme Coordinator (SPC) , Mr Irimiya Musa, represented by Mr Bulus Maiyaki, urged beneficiaries to use the inputs for the intended purpose.
He said proper utilisation of the support would help farmers increase their yields and contribute to food availability in their communities.
News men reports that VCDP is an agricultural development programme supported by the Federal Government and IFAD to improve the productivity, incomes and livelihoods of smallholder farmers and other actors along selected agricultural value chains.