By Popoola Jamiu, Abeokuta
The Ogun State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining and expanding the achievements of the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), with plans to extend its interventions to all 20 local government areas of the state after the conclusion of support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The expansion is aimed at strengthening rice and cassava value chains, promoting value addition and improving the incomes and livelihoods of farmers across the state.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Angel Adelaja-Kuye, disclosed this during a meeting with the executive members of the Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF), led by its Chairman, Alhaji Kamorudeen Shokunbi, at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Abeokuta.
She said the IFAD-assisted VCDP had recorded significant success in empowering farmers, particularly women and youths, through capacity-building programmes, improved farming techniques and training in cassava processing and other value-addition activities.
According to her, beneficiaries have acquired practical skills in the production of high-quality cassava flour and other cassava-based products, creating new income opportunities and demonstrating the commercial potential of locally processed agricultural products.
Adelaja-Kuye also revealed that the ministry is exploring innovative ways to utilise cassava peels and other by-products to minimise waste, promote environmental sustainability and increase farmers’ earnings.
“There should be nothing wasted in cassava production. We are looking at ways to add value to cassava peels and other by-products so that farmers can maximise returns from their harvest,” she said.
She added that while rice and cassava remain the programme’s priority commodities, the ministry is developing strategies to incorporate additional agricultural value chains to broaden economic opportunities for farmers and deepen agricultural development across the state.
The Special Adviser further said the ministry is committed to strengthening the farmers’ association established under the programme, noting that the association has already begun funding its activities through members’ contributions and registration fees as part of efforts to ensure sustainability after donor support ends.
She called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, development partners, private sector operators, farmers’ organisations and the media to consolidate the gains of the VCDP and extend its benefits to more farmers through increased productivity, improved market access, value addition and enhanced food security.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Commodity Alliance Forum, Alhaji Kamorudeen Shokunbi, described the forum as the umbrella body for all VCDP commodity groups in Ogun State, established by the IFAD-assisted programme as an exit strategy to manage and sustain its investments and infrastructure across the eight participating local government areas.
He said the forum represents more than 15,000 smallholder farmers, processors, marketers and agribusiness operators engaged in rice, cassava and other agricultural value chains.
According to him, the organisation is responsible for safeguarding over ₦1.2 billion invested jointly by IFAD, the Federal Government and the Ogun State Government to ensure the programme continues to deliver lasting benefits through a sustainable, member-driven structure.
Shokunbi appealed to the state government to continue providing policy support, technical guidance and institutional collaboration to enable the forum to effectively preserve the achievements of the VCDP and ensure its long-term impact on agriculture in Ogun State.