By Stephen Adeleye
Lokoja, July 19, 2025
The Kogi Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government/International Fund for Agricultural Development (FGN/IFAD) Assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP-AF), has launched the distribution of farm inputs to 330 farmers in the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Timothy Ojomah, launched the distribution on Saturday in Lokoja.
Represented by Hajia Mariat Ibrahim, the ministry’s Director of Administration, Ojomah commended the VCDP for its great impacts on agriculture in the state through its tireless support for farmers in boosting the state’s economy.
Ojomah appreciated Gov. Ahmed Ododo for his commitment to supporting farmers through various agriculture programmes which are yielding positive results in ensuring food security in the State.
The commissioners reiterated government’s commitment to creating the enabling environment for the development of agriculture in the state towards food sufficiency.
Earlier, and the State Coordinator of FGN/IFAD-VCDP, Dr Stella Adejoh, said initiative aimed to boost agricultural productivity and food security in the state, particularly in the rice and cassava value chain.
Adejoh said the programme was being implemented in five local government areas of the state, including Lokoja, Ajaokuta, Olamaboro, Kabba-Bunu, and Ibaji LGAs.
According to her, the support will be in different phases, with 330 farmers benefiting in this particular phase of the 2025 wet season farming.
“This brings the total number of support so far to about 5,600 farmers across the five LGAs.
“Today we are here as a way of support to distribute farm inputs to the producers which include women, youth and the vulnerable groups; it is an all inclusive programme.
“The process is such that the farmers contribute 50 per cent of the input cost while the VCDP contribute the remaining 50 per cent. So, it is a joint venture between the farmers and the VCDP,” Adejoh said.
She expressed gratitude to the governor for creating an enabling environment for the VCDP programme and being proactive in paying counterpart funds, making implementation easy.
Adejoh urged farmers to use the inputs on their farms, warning against selling them, and assure that the farmers will be monitored.
The Managing Director of Kogi Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), Mr George Ogirima, commended the governor for putting agriculture policies on the front burner in the state.
He hailed the VCDP for making undeniable impacts in terms of projects execution across the five benefiting LGAs in the state.
Ogirima also commended Adejoh and her team for doing a very good job in boosting agriculture development in the state.
Beneficiaries of the programme, including Mr. Salihu Abdullahi from Lokoja and Mrs. Esther Joseph from Olamaboro, expressed their gratitude to the VCDP and the Kogi State Government for the support.
The farmers promised to utilise the inputs for the wet season farming to achieve a bumper harvest of farm produce.
“We are grateful to VCDP and the government for this support, because it will go a long way to reduce our suffering through a bumper harvest,” Joseph said.
The distributed inputs include improved rice seeds, Urea and NPK fertilizer, selective and non-selective herbicides, insecticides, among others.
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