NANTS, AGRA project empowers 367,000 smallholder farmers in 3-year in Niger state
The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) has concluded a three-year agricultural intervention project in Niger, empowering about 367,000 smallholder farmers.
Dr. Ken Ukaoha, National President of NANTS, disclosed this during the NANT/Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) project evaluation, sign-of and sustainability plan workshop in Minna.
The project is tagged “improving farmer resilience and upscaling productivity, income and livelihood in rice, maize, soybean, cowpea and vegetable value chains in Niger state.
Ukaoha said the project, implemented under the AGRA/Niger State consortium, successfully reached 367,000 farmers, surpassing its initial target of 350,000 farmers.
“The project was implemented in 16 local government areas, the project has been a huge success, and we are proud to have exceeded our target,” he said.
He said the project established 2,000 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and provided training on business development services for women, financial literacy, and record-keeping.
He said over 124,000 farmers were trained, with a ratio of 60 per cent women and 40 per cent men, on improved agricultural practices, post-harvest handling, and marketing.
Ukaoha said the project recorded success stories, including; smallholder farmers gaining access to profitable markets, leading to higher sales incomes and improved bargaining power.
He said the project had strengthened value chain linkages as over 203,000 smallholders have been integrated into supply chains, securing long-term deals with processors and agrodealers.
He, however, recommended use of digital technology to track commodities and improve market access, provision of more financing options for VSLAs and smallholder farmers for sustainability of the project.
In his remarks, Mr Godswill Agwuyi Programme Officer of AGRA, said the workshop was designed to gather feedback from VSLA groups on the project’s impact and to identify areas for future support.
“We want to hear from the VSLA groups on what worked well, what didn’t, and what they think we should focus on in the future,” he said.
He advised the VSLA groups to find ways to come together, communicate, and share information, ideas, and insights to sustain the project’s gains.
Christy Adamu, a beneficiary from Paiko, said the project provided training on VSLAs and equipped them with Point of Sale (POS) machines.
“We used to travel all the way to Minna to deposit our savings and give loans to our members, but with the POS machines, we can now do everything easily and quickly,” she said.
She added that the project has enabled her association to save more money, making the process easier and more efficient.
Another beneficiary, Mrs Naomi Tsado, from Victory Poultry Farming Cooperative Society, said her cooperative benefited from training on business development services, VSLA, and conflict resolution.
“We also received a grinding machine, which has been generating income for our cooperative, improved our livelihoods and empowered them economically,” she said.
“We plan to use the income to purchase additional machines, which will add value to our income,” she said.
