The Government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), European Union (EU), and the Nigerian government on Wednesday formally launched the Agriculture Value Chain Facility (EU-VACE) Transformative Agricultural Systems for Rural Economic Development (TARED) project to boost productivity in four selected agricultural value chains in in Nigeria
The initiative, worth €18.3 million, will focus on cocoa, dairy, tomatoes, and ginger, to create jobs, enhance food security, and promote climate-smart farming across Nigeria.
Implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), in collaboration with the federal ministry of Budget and National Planning, and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the project will be implemented in Cross River, Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Ondo, Oyo and Plateau States, and will span four years from October 2024 to September 2028.
Andrea Ruediger, a GIZ representative, speaking during the launch in Abuja, said the project aims to create or enhance 10,000 new jobs and will facilitate €2 million in access to finance, ultimately increasing the income of farmers and the turnover of businesses by 15% She added that the project targets a 15 percent reduction in post-harvest losses across the value chains to enhance food security.
“We are aiming to work with 25,000 beneficiaries, mainly women and youth. We’ll be working with key value chain stakeholders to ensure that they understand the principles of value chain promotion,” she said.
“And we will be addressing full growth barriers for the value chains. In our access to finance pillar, our aim is to reach at least 15 investors who then can provide investments for 10,000 beneficiaries. Our goal is to develop at least 25 investment proposals for financing, of which 15 shall be supported”, she explained.
Ruediger further mentioned that the project will work with 15,000 beneficiaries rl adopt climate-smart or inclusive practices. “We want to support the development of 10 nature-based climate-smart solutions that are introduced, and five of which shall be adopted at a larger scale”, she said.
Oladoyin Olawaiye, deputy country director of GIZ Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States, emphasised the importance of the initiative, noting that for many years the agricultural sector in Nigeria has been plagued with several challenges, including climate change, inadequate frameworks for agro-processing, environmental degradation, and insecurity.
She explained that the EU-VACE TARED project adopts an inclusive value chain approach to addressing these challenges through the promotion of innovation and sustainable practices.
“This project will empower smallholder farmers and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to increase productivity, adopt innovations, and leverage value chain opportunities,” she added.
Gautier mignot, EU Ambassador to Nigeria, in his remarks, described agriculture as a strong pillar for unlocking Nigeria’s economy and welfare. According to him, it holds the key to access, food security, job creation, climate resilience, and inclusive economic growth.
The Ambassador noted that the project would help address the challenges faced by farmers and agribusinesses in Nigeria and, in particular, support Nigeria’s compliance with EU regulations on cocoa exports.
“Indeed, one of the important aspects of this is the support to Nigeria’s efforts to comply with the EU deforestation regulation in the cocoa sector in particular, Nigeria to be ready to comply with the regulation next year”, he said.
In his remarks, Johannes Lehne, deputy head of mission at the German Embassy, said the initiative is a testament to the longstanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Germany, the European Union, and Nigeria.
“We view this as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future designed to strengthen key agricultural value chains and our shared goal is to create jobs, enhance food security, and promote climate smart farming with a special focus on empowering humanity”, he said.
Aliyu Abdullahi, minister of state for Agriculture extended Nigeria’s profound gratitude to the European Union for funding the project and to GIZ for their longstanding technical support to Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
” Over the years, your partnership has consistently helped Nigeria tackle pressing challenges, from food insecurity to climate change and post-apartheid losses.
The significance of this project cannot be overstated. Agriculture remains the backbone of our economy, employing millions of Nigerians and sustaining households across rural and urban communities”, he said
He assured that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, will provide every support needed to drive the project to success.
“Nigeria’s agricultural sector is rich in potential and yet we know that it faces persistent challenges like infrastructure deficits, like limited storage and processing capacity, weak access to finance. Solving these is not only critical for food security, it is critical for security as a whole, as well as of course for the overall socio-economic transformation of the country”, he said.
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