By Jimoh Babatunde

As Ondo state Government disbursed N45 million to fadama communities under Fadama lll programme, the state commissioner for Agriculture, Egnr. Ademola Olorunfunmi has given his nod to the Growth Enhancement Support scheme under Federal Government’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda.

Speaking ahead of the distribution of the fund to the 9th set of beneficiaries of the scheme in his office on Monday, he said that the present challenges being experienced by farmers are inevitable since the scheme is new and quite different from what they had been used to in the past.

“The genesis of the program is based on research that less than 11% of farmers get the fertilizers procured every year. This only the first year of the program and we know that there are hiccups which will be over come.”

Olorunfumi disclosed that as a support of the laudable  initiative  of the Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, that the Ondo state government has paid  over  three hundred Naira (N300,000,000) million as  their  payment.

“This is a demonstration of our avowed commitment in actualising our lofty objective in the agricultural sector of the state. Our Governor is committed to fulfilling its obligation through supporting all the externally-founded projects in the state financially and with the required political will.”

Speaking on agriculture financing and supports to farmers in the state, Olorunfumi disclosed that the state government has given out loans to about over 2000 farmers.

“We have given out over N700million, under IFAD, ADP, FADAMA; we have given out grants of over half a billion since inception of this government.

“The IFAD, ADP and Fadama are special projects that are community based, and this government has been paying its counter part funding to the World bank, Africa Development Bank and the Federal government. I glad to say that in all of these we have always been top.”

The Agriculture commissioner added that “For the third year running in Fadama project, the World Bank has declared the state as the best performing state in the Fadama project. This are judged largely in terms of the prompt payment of counter part fund; the appropriate management of the scheme and achievement of the deliverables. These are items that are clearly stated.”

He added that  the state had earlier disbursed about N290 million under the Fadama project, “these are money that go to cooperatives,  the people form cooperatives, determine what they want and we provide the technical evaluation and pay this money to their account and monitor  and this has developed over 4000 rural families.