Abuja – The National Programme for Food Security (NPFS) has urged the Federal Government to leverage upon the programme’s platforms to drive its agricultural development policies.
The call is contained in an NPFS report obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
The report revealed that the programme was implementing a bottom-up approach in its activities and has been structured to impact on national, state and local government agricultural programmes.
It said the implementation arrangement has provided the platform to effectively reach poor rural farming communities in Nigeria.
“It operates through 327 carefully selected and functional NPFS sites nationwide, and 3 sites per Senatorial District supported by the Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) in each state,’’ the report stated.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
According to the report, NPFS also has a robust outreach programme which extends its activities and benefits to communities outside the sites.
“NPFS has touched the lives of Nigerians and has contributed significantly to agricultural development and food security in Nigeria.
“It has improved rural households’ income and livelihood, created jobs and controlled the rate of rural urban migration,’’ it said.
The report further said NPFS also co-ordinated the implementation of all Donor-Assisted Agricultural and Rural Development Projects in Nigeria.
“The NPFS and all donor-assisted projects are all supported by Government Counterpart Funds to ensure sustainability of the programme.
“The programme beneficiary communities have been organised into viable farmer organisations which are managing their productive resources, including access to micro-credits,’’ it said.
The report said NPFS also co-ordinates the implementation of the South-South Co-operation (SSC) Programme.
NAN reports that the SSC programme is jointly organised by the Federal Government, People’s Republic of China and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) under a tripartite agreement.
“SSC programme is in its third phase of implementation and involves the deployment of Chinese agricultural experts to Nigeria to work with rural farmers,’’ it said.
The programme introduced low cost and an adaptable Chinese farm technology to Nigeria’s farming communities with a view to improve their productivity as well as develop their knowledge and skills.
“Furthermore, the programme has recorded very impressive achievements in this regard and has provided a veritable platform for fostering friendship and co-operation between Nigeria, China and FAO.
“So far, a total of over 600 Chinese agricultural experts have participated in the programme,’’ the NPFS report said.(NAN)
