The Federal Government of Nigeria and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) assisted Value Chain Development programme (VCDP) have supported 370 benefitting Ebonyi farmers with farm inputs.

Mr Sunday Ituma, the State Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, disclosed this during the presentation of the inputs in Abakaliki, noting that it was under the Rural Poor Stimulus Facility.

Ituma said that 258 farmers would receive two bags of NPK fertilizer, one bag of Urea fertilizer and one bag of 50kg seedling each.

"They would also receive one litre of non-selective herbicide and one litre of selective herbicide each," he said.

He noted that the remaining 112 farmers would only receive seedlings but not the other inputs.

"The programme targeted the female gender from the benefiting Local Government Areas with 80 per cent of the beneficiaries being women and 20 per cent, men.

"The beneficiaries have been duly profiled and captured in the programme"s data base.

"We would ensure that the inputs are not diverted by the farmers and monitor the usage till harvest period to ascertain the impact on crop yield.

The programme's National Coordinator, Dr Fatima Aliyu said that the intervention was to cushion the effect of COVID 19 on farmers in Nigeria .

Aliyu represented by Mr Frank Njar said that the intervention was to support vulnerable farmers in VCDP states of Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Anambra, Benue, Niger, Taraba, Ogun and Ebonyi.

"2,793 vulnerable VCDP farmers will receive agro inputs to support their farming activities as the programme will also provide extension services to targeted farmers.

Chief Moses Nome, state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, described IFAD-VCDP as the bedrock of agricultural development in the state.

"One striking feature of IFAD operations in the state is the engagement of the ministry of agriculture in all its activities.

"This is the reason for the immense support the government gives it as the only thing we don't offer it is what we can't afford," he said.

Mrs Chika Nwafia, one of the beneficiaries thanked the programme for the intervention and assured that the inputs would be judiciously utilized.

Nice