The Federal Government and the IFAD-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP-AF) in Kogi State have distributed agricultural equipment to farmers and start-up packs to 33 persons living with disabilities (PLWDs) to promote self-reliance, inclusion and sustainable livelihoods.
The distribution, held in Lokoja, covered farmers involved in processing and marketing, as well as women beneficiaries across five local government areas: Ajaokuta, Lokoja, Ibaji, Olamaboro and Kabba-Bunu.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Timothy Ojomah, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Moses Joseph Dare, said the intervention demonstrated that development must be inclusive.
He said the administration of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo was committed to agricultural development, poverty reduction and the inclusion of vulnerable groups in the state.
“This is not merely about providing equipment. It is about creating opportunities, promoting self-reliance, strengthening livelihoods and restoring confidence,” he said.
The commissioner urged beneficiaries to use the items productively and embrace cooperative structures.
The State Project Coordinator, IFAD-VCDP Kogi, Dr Stella Adejoh, said the programme believed that disability was not inability.
She revealed that while farmers contributed 30 per cent of the cost of the equipment, the support for PLWDs was provided free of charge.
The items distributed to PLWDs included bags of rice, tables, chairs, bowls and POS terminals, alongside training on how to use them for small businesses.
Adejoh noted that about 300 farmers received equipment such as knapsack sprayers, solar-powered pumping machines, threshers, wheelbarrows and shovels, while 350 women received energy-efficient cooking stoves linked to briquetting machines that convert rice husks and other agricultural waste into clean fuel.
“We expect this intervention to be sustainable. Beneficiaries should use these items for the purpose for which they were given,” she said.
Adejoh commended Governor Ododo for the prompt payment of counterpart funds and the Ministry of Agriculture for its support.
She said VCDP had profiled 7,575 farmers across the five local government areas and had so far supported about 5,600 farmers along the cassava and rice value chains.
Beneficiaries, including Yakubu Mohammed of Olamaboro, Glory Omale of Ibaji and Latifat Babatunde of Ajaokuta, appreciated VCDP, IFAD and the state government.
