Adamawa Empowers 210 Farmers To Produce Exportable Crops

The Adamawa State Government has trained and empowered 210 small-holder farmers for production of reliable source of high-quality agro commodities for export markets.

Speaking during the training which took place in Mubi with technical support from the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Commissioner of Commerce, Trade and Industry in the State, Dr Ishaya Dabari, said the project was conceived to empower farmers to venture into export activity with a bid to stimulate economic activity.

Explaining that the exercise was taking place simultaneously across three senatorial zones in the state, Dabari said the partnership with the NEPC was a strategy for the people to obtain export certificates at no cost to 150 SMEs that will facilitate export of local products without challenges.

“We knew the financial capacity of our people, so Governor (Umaru) Fintiri decided to pay for the fees of processing 150 certificates that we distributed.”

He listed the exportable produce to include sesame, groundnut, hibiscus, soybeans, ginger, and processed food products.

NEPC’s North-East Regional Coordinator, Mr Anani Egon, said the aim of the project was to stimulate sustainable growth of the Agri-food export sector to strengthen capacity among farmers, processors and potential exporters.

“The project is under the broader framework of States Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER), a world bank assisted programme to promote sustainable economic diversification by strengthening the non-oil export sector”, he said.