The federal Government has promised to raise the standard of living of more rural people through the FADAMA Agricultural Programme assisted by the World Bank. The national project coordinator of the scheme, Ahaji Bukar Tijani, stated this Wednesday during a four day Third National FADAMA Development Project (NFDP III) of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development at the fourth joint World Bank/FGN supervision Mission on FADAMA III Project, South South Zone in Uyo.

Tijani emphasized that the high living standard of the people had been actualized through various schemes the FADAMA project had adopted for the past three years to help farmers achieve a maximum yield in their farm produce. He advised men and women in the South South Zone to form cooperative societies and get registered, maintaining that grants would be given to them by the FADAMA World Bank assisted programmes to set up small-scale-agro-industries adding that these would reduce the menace of unemployment and eradicate poverty in the communities. Tijani emphasized that the objective of the scheme was “sustaining and increasing the income of rural farmers.”

He appreciated the level of infrastructural development in the state and congratulated the governor on his victory at the poll, and his committed support to the FADAMA project in the state. Also speaking, Dr Abimbola Adubi, World Bank Task Team Leader, Third National FADAMA Development Project, who was on a supervision mission, appreciated different groups and association of famers in Akwa Ibom that have worked assiduously to actualize the dreams of the programme by setting up different agricultural farms enterprises to boost the economy of the state and the nation at large. He assured the farmers that the World Bank would continue to assist and support farmers by giving out loans and grants to invest in their agricultural products for high yield, food security, and job creation.

In an address, Dr Ita Akan, permanent secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, thanked members of the team on their efforts to raise the economy of the rural farmers in the country and Akwa Ibom in particular. Akan stressed that the Akwa Ibom government would continue to support FADAMA project and Programmes. He said to sustain food security in the State, Gov. Godswill Akpabio has conducted a training and retraining of about 1,200 youths through the State’s Integrated Farmers Scheme and empowered them with N500,000 per person to start up agricultural farms in the rural areas.

Different groups and associations of farmers of the FADAMA in south south geopolitical zone were present at the event. The states were Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Cross River and the host, Akwa Ibom. The highpoint of the event was the exhibition of various agricultural farm products by the farmers.