IFAD-VCDP empowers Niger PWD farmers with inputs to boost harvests, livelihoods
By Priscilla Ben
The Federal Government/ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) has distributed improved farming inputs and implements to persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Niger State as part of efforts to promote inclusive agricultural development.
The support, provided under the programme’s disability inclusion initiative, benefited PWD farmers in Bida, Kutigi, Edati and Katcha local government areas.
Beneficiaries received improved seeds, fertilisers, herbicides and other farming implements to support cultivation during the current farming season.
Speaking during the distribution, the Rural Institution Gender Mainstreaming Officer of VCDP, Hajiya Maimuna Abubakar Ahmed, said the programme remains committed to ensuring that vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, are not left behind in agricultural development.
She said the intervention was designed to improve the productivity and incomes of PWD farmers by providing them with the inputs needed to expand their farming activities.
The State Programme Coordinator of VCDP, Hajiya Hadizat Isah, said the programme prioritises providing productive assets to beneficiaries instead of cash.
“We don’t give cash to our beneficiaries. We support them with farming inputs, equipment and facilities to improve their lives. We are engaged with farmers, producers and processors,” she said.
Isah urged the beneficiaries to utilise the items effectively to increase food production and improve their livelihoods.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, the State Secretary-General of the Empowerment Initiative for Persons with Disabilities (EIPWDS), Abubakar Sadiq Hassan, expressed appreciation to VCDP for the intervention and assured that members would make judicious use of the inputs.
He disclosed that the association currently operates four farms at Sobon-Daga, Tsoho-Daga, BCC near the Maizube Filling Station along Bida Road, and the School of Handicap, Minna.
According to him, the School of Handicap farm serves as a practical training centre where students with disabilities acquire hands-on agricultural skills.
“We want our students to know that in every disability, there is ability. Whenever we are working on the farm, we invite them to participate so they can acquire practical farming skills,” he noted. .
Beneficiaries Maryam Abdulkadir and Dauda Mohammed described the intervention as timely, saying the support would enable them to cultivate more land and improve their harvests.
They commended IFAD-VCDP for extending its agricultural support to persons with disabilities, saying the initiative would enhance their livelihoods and encourage greater participation in farming.
