Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have called for deliberate measures to sustain the gains of the FGN/IFAD-Assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP-AF) in Kogi beyond its lifespan.

They made the call on Saturday in Lokoja at a policy dialogue on sustaining the gains of VCDP and follow-up adoption of VCDP key initiatives, organised by the Kogi VCDP office.

The national programme coordinator, IFAD-VCDP, Fatima Aliyu, said the dialogue was timely as the programme gradually winds down.

She stressed that the focus must shift from what VCDP provides to what systems and institutions will continue to deliver.

Ms Aliyu said VCDP had demonstrated that smallholder farmers could become viable economic actors when provided with inputs, knowledge, infrastructure, finance and markets.

Ms Aliyu, represented by Vera Onyeaka-Onyilo, IFAD-VCDP knowledge management and communications adviser, noted that the programme had strengthened rice and cassava value chains in Kogi.

She said the most important achievements were not just infrastructure and inputs but the systems and relationships created, including stronger farmer organisations, market linkages and platforms for stakeholder collaboration.

“Sustainability requires a deliberate transition from project-driven activities to institution-driven development,” she said.

She listed five sustainability pillars to include institutionalisation of the VCDP approach into state policies, infrastructure sustainability, market sustainability, financial sustainability and knowledge sustainability.

“The true measure of VCDP’s success will not be what we accomplished during the programme, but what continues to happen after the programme,” she said.

She called for collective responsibility among the government, IFAD, private sector, financial institutions and farmers.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Kogi State programme coordinator, Stella Adejoh, said VCDP started in July 2020, with implementation beginning in January 2021, and would run until December 2027.

Ms Adejoh said the programme profiled 7,575 farmers, out of which VCDP supported a total of 6,050.

“We supported 2,633 male farmers, 3,366 female farmers, 2,176 youths and 51 persons living with disabilities across five LGAs – Ajaokuta, Ibaji, Lokoja, Kabba-Bunu and Olamaboro – covering producers, processors and marketers.”

She said interventions included input distribution, mechanisation, processing equipment, construction of rice and cassava processing centres, and provision of solar-powered pumping machines to replace fuel-powered pumps following challenges posed by fuel costs and heat waves.

She added that VCDP also supported nutrition interventions, school gardens, home gardens, poultry support and value addition, with all beneficiaries captured on a database with GPS coordinates of farms for transparency.

She commended the Kogi Government for enabling the environment and promptly paying counterpart funds.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, represented by Abraham Ahmed, director, planning, research and statistics, urged farmers to take ownership of the project.

“It is a very bad situation to see that a project that has impacted the lives of our people dies at the end of the project. As a ministry, we will ensure the project is in our budget yearly,” he said.

The managing director, Kogi Agricultural Development Project, George Ogirima, commended the initiative and assured that ADP would continue to support sustainability through extension workers.

A civil society representative, Idris Muraina, and Hamza Aliyu of KONGONET commended the project and called for accurate data for sector implementation.

They called for collaboration between government, NGOs and relevant agencies.

On his part, the chairman, Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF), Moru Ahmed, who spoke on behalf of farmers, said VCDP had greatly impacted farmers’ lives and urged the government to extend the programme to all 21 LGAs.

Other beneficiaries – Charity Momoh, processor from Olamaboro; Salihu Abdullahi, farmer from Lokoja; and Glory Omale, processor from Ibaji – testified that VCDP had improved their wellbeing and livelihoods.

Stakeholders, including MDAs, traditional institutions, CSOs, insurance and financial institutions, community leaders and off-takers, among others, urged farmers to be united under CAF to come up with practical ideas for sustainability.

They also urged financial institutions to continue supporting farmers in the state.

(NAN)