Nigeria, Germany Partner On Smallholder Farming

The German Agency
for International Cooperation has resolved to help tackle the perennial problems associated with smallholder farming in Nigeria.
In a press release made available to The Tide through Agro Nigeria in Port Harcourt recently, GIZ Nigeria’s country Director, Thomas Kirsch disclosed that the agency has initiated a scheme code- named “the Competitive Africa Rice Initiative (CARI)” which will offer matching grants to no fewer than 122,000 farmers in four African countries including Nigeria.

Kirsch said CARI is expected to team up with additional partners to target more farmers all of whom would be integrated into inclusive business models until 2017.
According to him, the focus now was on the marketing of locally produced rice and to continue to support policies that will create the enabling environment for high yield production.
He affirmed that the core mechanism for implementing the programme is matching Grant Fund mechanism focused on supporting core partners to strengthen linkages and build the capacity of the broader value chain actors.
In the Nigerian organisation where the project has been implemented, the country Director said that over 2000 farmers have been clustered around primary processors for the production of garri, fufu, starch and high quality cassava flour (HQCF).
Kirsch said approaches are already made available to interested programmes, companies and organisations in Africa and to the comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).