The Federal Government and International Fund for Agricultural Development (FG/IFAD) Assisted Value Chain Development Programme Additional Financing (VCDP-AF) has distributed agricultural machinery to smallholder farmers and provided fully funded business start-up packs to 33 Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in Kogi State.
The distribution ceremony, held on Monday, August 17, 2026, in Lokoja, targeted producers, processors, and marketers across five local government areas: Ajaokuta, Lokoja, Ibaji, Olamaboro, and Kabba-Bunu.
Speaking on behalf of the Kogi State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Timothy Ojomah, Permanent Secretary Mr Moses Joseph Dare affirmed that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s administration remains dedicated to inclusive agricultural growth and poverty reduction.
Encouraging beneficiaries to adopt cooperative structures, Dare noted: “This is not merely about providing equipment. It is about creating opportunities, promoting self-reliance, strengthening livelihoods, and restoring confidence.”
State Project Coordinator for IFAD-VCDP Kogi, Dr Stella Adejoh, emphasised that while standard agricultural equipment required a 30 per cent beneficiary matching contribution, support packages for PWDs were provided entirely free of charge.
PWD start-up packs included bags of rice, trade tables, chairs, bowls, and point-of-sale (POS) terminals accompanied by prior small-business operational training.
Dr Adejoh further detailed that approximately 300 farmers received knapsack sprayers, solar-powered water pumps, crop threshers, wheelbarrows, and shovels, while 350 women received energy-efficient cooking stoves powered by briquetting machines that convert agricultural waste, such as rice husks, into clean fuel.
She confirmed that IFAD-VCDP has profiled 7,575 farmers across the state and supported 5,600 producers to date along the cassava and rice value chains.
Participating beneficiaries, including Yakubu Mohammed, Glory Omale, and Latifat Babatunde, expressed appreciation to the state government and IFAD for sustaining the program’s counterpart funding.
Source: Independent News
