The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in developing nations, has lauded the administration of Dr. Peter Mbah for its unwavering dedication to combatting rural poverty in Enugu State.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
IFAD also expressed its appreciation for the swift release of the N274 million counterpart fund by the administration for the IFAD Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), ensuring the program’s continued effectiveness in Enugu State….CONTINUE READING
During a courtesy visit to Governor Peter Mbah on the occasion of the launch of the 10th supervision mission for the IFAD/VCDP development program in Enugu State, IFAD’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mrs. Dede Ekoue, extended the commendation.
She highlighted that the program in Enugu State was positively impacting over 5,000 families, with more than 50% being women and 30% comprised of young farmers, producers, processors, and traders.
Mrs. Ekoue emphasized the significance of the prompt counterpart fund release, stating, “This release of the counterpart funding demonstrates your strong commitment to fighting rural poverty because we know that your agenda is to have zero percent poverty in your state.
This counterpart funding payment is also a clear signal of your determination to re-energize agriculture and agro-industry in general. We are here to express our deep appreciation to you for this, and we want to renew IFAD’s commitment to work closely with all the partners involved to scale up the impact of this program.”
In response, Dr. Mbah reiterated his administration’s dedication to elevating the income of rural residents, establishing food security, and producing a surplus for export.
“Beyond food security, we are also looking at exports. We want to make Enugu State the export hub for food. So, the objective of the IFAD/VCDP program in general is something that we are very much interested in, and which is why we spared no time in making sure we put in place our counterpart funds because we have made substantial projections for the growth we want to see in Enugu in the next 4 to 8 years.
A significant portion of that growth will arise from the agriculture and agro-allied industrialization sector. We believe that with the partnerships we have established with IFAD, this vision will be realized.”
