People with Special Needs in Niger State have vowed to utilise the farming inputs distributed to them under the Agro Inputs Distribution for Value Chain Development Programme, VCDP, to enhance their productivity and improve their economic well being.
They made this commitment during the official flag-off of the 2025 Agro Inputs Distribution for VCDP farmers, held in Bida, Bida Local Government Area.
The beneficiaries pledged to make judicious use of the farm inputs provided to them in order to increase their yields, rather than selling them.
Etsu Abubakar, chairman of the Blind People Association and also chairman of the Blind Farmers’ Youth Association in Bida, expressed delight at the inclusion of his members in the value chain programme, while calling for continued interventions.
According to him, “We are happy to be included in the programme for the first time. We will use the farming inputs to good use. And, I am calling on my members not to sell but should judiciously put it on their farms to increase output and better their lives.”
Another beneficiary, Zainab Suleiman, a mother of twelve, said, “We are happy with our inclusion into the programme because it helps us to increase our yields. For me, the support will help increase productivity and that means more food for me and my 12 children. This will also help me to stop begging for alms because I am tired of it.”
The National Programme Coordinator of VCDP, Dr Fatima K. Aliyu, represented by Nura Lawal, Officer in Charge of Environment and Climate Change, commended the state for its performance in the programme. She emphasised that the goal was to enhance the productivity and livelihoods of vulnerable groups.
She said, “The goal of including the people with special needs was to enhance their productivity as well as their livelihood. We are urging them not to sell the inputs, but use them for the intended purpose.”
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Musa Salihu Booso, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Mathew Ahmed, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to supporting agriculture and creating an enabling environment for farming.
“We are committed to supporting the activities of VCDP in the state,” he said.
Also speaking, the State VCDP Coordinator, Hajiya Hadizat Isah, explained that the physically challenged farmers were considered for the first time in the programme after it was observed that they had previously been excluded from such interventions.
She added that a committee had already been constituted to monitor the beneficiaries and ensure the farm inputs were used judiciously, in accordance with agency standards.
A total of 1,995 rice farmers, including those with special needs, across eight participating local government areas in the state, will be supported for the 2025 rice farming season.
The distributed farm inputs include 5,424 bags of NPK fertiliser, 2,712 bags of urea fertiliser, 27,120 kilograms of FARO 44 rice seeds, and 2,712 litres of herbicide.
