The federal government-International Fund for Agricultural Development Value Chain Development Programme (FGN/IFAD-VCDP) has lauded Anambra farmers for increasingly turning cassava, rice and other farm produce into value-added products.

The Anambra programme coordinator of VCDP, Deborah Onyefulu, made the commendation at the opening of a two-day Interactive Commodity Promotion Show and Agricultural Fair in Awka on Wednesday.

Ms Onyefulu said the development was creating more opportunities for income generation and job creation among farmers.

Ms Onyefulu, represented by the acting state business and market development officer, Mary Obiekwe, said the fair was designed to give farmers visibility, create market opportunities and showcase the impact of training provided under the programme.

She said the initiative also aimed to strengthen the rice and cassava value chains by equipping farmers with skills to process farm produce into marketable products, including cassava moi-moi, chin-chin, cake and chocolate.

“The fair is to create visibility for our farmers and highlight efforts toward enhancing the rice and cassava value chains for sustainable agricultural transformation. We are also assessing how far the farmers have gone with the various trainings they received on cassava, rice and vegetable value chains,” Ms Onyefulu said.

The event featured farmers from the nine participating local government areas of Ayamelum, Anambra East, Anambra West, Orumba North, Awka North, Orumba South, Ihiala, Ogbaru and Aguata.

A panel of judges from the state Ministry of Agriculture assessed the products based on economic value, processing, sustainability, nutritional value, packaging, value addition, and compliance with agricultural techniques.

Speaking on behalf of the panel, Victor Uchemba, an agricultural extension specialist at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, commended the farmers for their commitment to improving the quality and marketability of their products.

The director of Agro Market Square, John Okafor, said the training was yielding positive results.

Mr Okafor said the quality of products from Anambra farmers had improved significantly compared to four or five years ago. He said that his organisation partnered with farmers for the off-take of processed and unprocessed agricultural products.

He appealed to the government to provide more training, funding and inputs to farmers to sustain the gains.

“Based on the product evaluation, analysis and quality control carried out, I can tell you that Anambra farmers have improved. But the farmers need support to drive sustainability because the end goal is to sell, make money, stay in business and create jobs,” he said.

A farmer from Awka North, Nnaemeka Agundu, said the various trainings by FG/IFAD-VCDP had improved his knowledge of farm business, particularly in processing, packaging and marketing.

Mr Agundu said the training had helped him to expand his agro-business venture and improve his income.

“With this fair, we will get more visible in the market, meet the needs of the people and improve our livelihoods,” he said.

At the end of the assessment, Orumba South emerged first, while Ihiala and Aguata came second and third, respectively.

(NAN)