Abeokuta – Alhaji Nojeem Awodele, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, on Monday reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to support farmers through the Fadama programme.

Speaking in Abeokuta, Awodele said that farmers would be able to access up to 90 per cent of the funding requirement for their projects through the programme.

They in turn, would contribute the remaining 10 per cent.

The National Fadama Development Programme (NFDP) is a World Bank-assisted poverty alleviation programme designed to improve the livelihoods of the benficiaries.

The programme is also aimed at developing the nation’s agricultural sector.

He said that the government had initiated a lot programmes to ensure the development of agriculture in the country.

“The present government is passionate about agricultural development and to that effect, there are lots of ongoing projects to ensure we achieve our target.

“For instance, we have 25,000-tonne silo  located at Ikene in Ogun State which is aimed at making life easier for farmers,” the minister.

According to him, the Federal Government has established a mechanism to mop up excess grains from farmers for storage.

Besides, he added that no fewer than 10 agriculture-related projects had been completed in the state with several others were still ongoing.

All these, he said, were targeted at increasing the GDP and consequently solve the current food scarcity in the country.

“The premise of development should be our ability to feed ourselves,” Awodele said. (NAN)