Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has restated the continuous support of his administration for the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) to boost agriculture and ensure food security in the state.
The VCDP is a federal government program supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (FGN/IFAD-VCDP) to sustainably enhance rural incomes and food security.
Bello gave the assurance when the IFAD country director, Ms. Dede Ekoue, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Government House, Lokoja, yesterday.
The governor noted that Kogi used to be called a ‘civil service’ state in spite of its agrarian endowment, but his administration had turned it into agriculture friendly and the real food basket of the nation.
Bello appreciated the team for the value the IFAD-VCDP activities was adding to the farmers and agricultural produce in the state.
He commended the State Programme Coordinator (SPC), Dr Stella Adejoh, for her tenacity and doggedness in always achieving results.
The governor expressed hope that the organization would give more support to farmers especially those whose farmlands were destroyed by the recent flood disaster
Earlier, the IFAD country director, Ms. Dede Ekoue, said the team was in the state for a Mid-Term Review (MTR) of IFAD-VCDP activities being implemented in nine States including Kogi.
According to her, the objective is to assess all the progress made, look critically at challenges to be addressed, and opportunities to further leverage on to scale up the impacts.
