From Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The federal government assisted International Fund for Agriculture Development, IFAD/ Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), on Friday, flagged off the distribution of farm inputs for dry season rice farming to cushion the effects of flooding in Taraba State. They also distributed starter kits to selected women, who were trained in various entrepreneur skills.
The state governor, Darius Ishaku, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. David Ishaya Kasa, said that the IFAD support was coming to cushion the losses incurred by some farmers due to flood in the wet season production. Ishaku warned that the state government would not take it lightly with any farmer caught diverting or reselling the inputs.
“Our administration would continue to create the enabling environment for IFAD-VCDP to thrive and to support genuine farmers in the state in its quest to put Taraba in its rightful place in the agricultural map of Nigeria.
“Let me appeal to benefitting farmers to use the inputs for the purpose intended because, government will not take it lightly with any farmer caught diverting or reselling the inputs. I commend the effort of IFAD/VCDP for the input support, which has over the years enabled benefitting farmers to apply well-researched technologies that have transformed the rice and cassava farming in the state,” the governor said.