A Bill for a Law to establish the Ebonyi State Agricultural Value Chain Development Agency (EBS-AVCDA) to sustain, expand and institutionalize the gains of the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) and for related matters, has been presented to the Ebonyi State House of Assembly for consideration and passage.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Value Chain Development Programme has been intervening in the agricultural sector in Ebonyi State since 2015. The programme is scheduled to wind down by June 2027 and will finally close in December 2027.
It is against this background that the National Programme Coordinator of the FGN/IFAD Value Chain Development Programme, Dr. Fatima Aliyu, was at the Ebonyi State House of Assembly to present a draft proposal for the transformation of VCDP into a government agency as part of efforts to sustain the gains of the programme.
The National Programme Coordinator, who was represented by the Knowledge Management Adviser, Mrs. Vera Onyeaka-Onyibo, highlighted the achievements and impact of the programme on participating rural farmers, especially in the areas of rural roads, rural water infrastructure, production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava, as well as capacity building of farmers and regular input distribution, among others.
She stressed the need to ensure that the achievements already recorded by the programme do not go into extinction, adding that the establishment of an agency would guarantee sustainability.
Also speaking, the State Programme Coordinator of the FGN/IFAD Value Chain Development Programme, Dr. Sunday Michael Ituma, said IFAD was keen on ensuring that a sustainability initiative was incorporated to preserve the programme’s achievements through a sustainable mechanism.
Dr. Ituma said the team interfaced with the State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources to explore how the Value Chain Development Programme could be transformed into a legal instrument to continue to improve agricultural practices in the State.
Responding, the Chairman of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hon. Onyebuchi Ogbadu, commended the agency for the draft bill aimed at domesticating the Value Chain Development Programme, which he noted has added immense value to the economic well-being and livelihood of benefiting farmers in the State.
The Committee Chairman maintained that Ebonyi farmers have benefited immensely from the IFAD intervention, which includes the construction of rural roads, market infrastructure, solar-powered boreholes, irrigation facilities, mini-bridges and culverts, among others.
In their separate contributions, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Stephen Orji Igwe, representing Edda East Constituency, the Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Joseph Ununu, representing Abakaliki South, and the Deputy Whip, Hon. Lucas Arinze Chukwu, representing Ishielu South, assured the team of their preparedness to ensure the speedy passage of the Bill into law in the interest of Ebonyi farmers.
