World Bank commits $200 million for agriculture in five Nigerian states

The coordinator of Kaduna State Agricultural Development Project (ADP), Mr. Abdulkadir Kassim, says the World Bank and the Federal Government have earmarked $200 million develop agriculture in five states of Nigeria's 36 states.

He said the money would be spent on developing dairy, fruits and aquacultural projects and that they will begin in 2008. They would be implemented in Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Cross River and Lagos states. Kassim said the World Bank will contribute 85 per cent of the money, the Federal Government, 10 per cent and the participating states the remaining five per cent.

He said commercial farmers in the 23 Local Government areas of Kaduna State would be selected to participate in the projects. Kassim said the programme would enable the government to diversify its revenue base from oil earnings. He said the ADP is running six programmes. They include Roots and Tuber Expansion (RTE), National Special Programme on Food Security (NSPFS), New Rice for Africa (NERICA), Community-Based Agriculture and Rural Development (CBARDP), Lead Project (non-oil) and FADAMA project.

Kassim noted that the each of the 23 local government areas in Kaduna State had at least one project. "Each of the programmes has a life span of between four and eight years," he said.

Kassim said ADP did not have enough extension workers to effectively cover the state. "We have only 230 extension workers. We need at least 500 to efficiently cover our projects in the state," he said.

The Nation