Kwara gives farm tools to over 49,000 farmers

The Kwara State Government has said that 235,567 farmers and others have received help from the FADAMA CARES programme. This comes after they launched another round of distributing farm tools and equipment.

They said this latest phase will support 49,337 people by giving out farm inputs, productive assets, and processing equipment.

Mashood Agboola, who is the deputy chief press secretary to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, shared this information in a statement on Monday.

The statement explained that this initiative is part of FADAMA CARES 2.0, which is the agricultural section of the World Bank-supported Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme.

Before this latest distribution, the government said 186,230 beneficiaries had already received support. This brings the total to 235,567 after the current round.

Governor AbdulRazaq was quoted in the statement, saying he expected the total number to be 235,556, which is 11 less than what the figures show.

At the flag-off ceremony in Ilorin on Monday, Mr AbdulRazaq mentioned that farmers are facing challenges. These include high input costs, unpredictable weather, not enough equipment, and problems with transporting and processing their produce.

"Our duty is to remove these barriers and obstacles so that their labour pays," the governor said.

He noted that earlier rounds of the programme had provided inputs and services to 54,332 people, while 131,898 others got productive and processing assets across 10 agricultural value chains.

This latest phase includes inputs for rice, maize, and soybean production. It also covers knapsack sprayers, water pumps, power tillers, grinding machines, rice mills, cassava-processing equipment, fish-smoking kilns, and commercial boats, according to the statement.

Mr AbdulRazaq urged beneficiaries to see the inputs and equipment as investments, not just handouts. He said that the programme aims to boost production, cut losses, improve processing, and widen access to markets.

Olohuntoyosi Thomas, the Commissioner for Livestock who oversees the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the state has sent out 48 tractors and two D&R Caterpillar bulldozers to help farmers and mechanization in all 16 local government areas.

Ms Thomas also mentioned that 2,016 farmers have received 8,064 bags of NPK fertiliser through the federal government’s Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme.

Hauwa Nuru, the Commissioner for Finance and head of the State NG-CARES Steering Committee, stated that the programme shows the state government’s commitment to improving farmers’ lives, boosting food security, and encouraging economic growth.

Busari Toyin Isiaka, the state FADAMA NG-CARES project coordinator, said the programme is set up to improve agricultural production, cut post-harvest losses, and increase the income of beneficiaries.