Ifdc quarterly 3

Quarterly Report

IFDCNigeria AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2014 JULY – SEPTEMBER

1. Minister Of Agric Visits Ifdc Nigeria’s Office

2. Uganda Study Tour 3. Closure Of Ges Tap 4. Workshops And Trainings 5. 2Scale Works To Link More Farmers To Credit

6. Nais Increases Reach Of

Syngeta’s Product To Farmers

7. Interview With Larry Tweed 8. Riddles & Puzzles 9. Activities

Minister Of Agriculture Visits IFDC Nigeria

Closure of GES-TAP

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IFDC/MARKETS II team leader explains UDP technology to the Minister

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ecognizing the importance of technologies in revolutionizing Agriculture, the Minister of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adeshina, visited IFDC Nigeria on the 18th of July 2014, to understand as well as be registered under the GES-TAP exercise. During his registration in the office, the Minister said, “this is a fantastic technology.” Applauding the work done so far in the pilot project, the Minister highlighted the benefits that the project offers such as; creating strong identity Management to synchronize stocks as well as deal with the issue of double registration. Another, strength is the speed of redemption farmer. He simply stated that the technology will bring more transparency to the GES scheme.

he eight month GES TAP pilot project which began in December 2013, has wrapped up operations- registration and redemption of farmers in both FCT and Sokoto State. The exercise was implemented in both Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Sokoto State. Under the pilot, over 500,000 farmers (about 21% female beneficiaries) were registered in both states and more than 76% of the registered farmers were reported to have redeemed various inputs ranging from fertilizers, seeds and agrolysers. The table below presents a breakdown of both registration and redemption exercise; FCT

Sokoto

Farmers registered

110,300

398,145

Farmers redeemed

83,994

298,505

Seeds redeemed

83,994

298,505

Fertilizers redeemed

167,988

597,010

The IFDC/MARKETS II team also showcased technologies being promoted by the project to the Minister; these include Urea Super Granules (USG), Direct Paddy Seeder (DPS), USG injector applicator, seed cleaning boxes and our Package of Practices (PoPs) material.Ã

UGANDA STUDY TOUR Following the study tour conducted by Malawi delegates in June, important dignitaries from Uganda also visited the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to gather lessons

learned on the E-Wallet technology.

Consequently, the dignitaries met with the IFDC GES Coordinator, Chinedu Ukeka, who explained the role IFDC plays as the lead Supply Chain Manager

(SCM) in the scheme. Representatives of the Rwanda delegation include the State Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture in Rwanda, Ruth Nankabirwa. Ã

WORKSHOPS AND TRAININGS In this last quarter various workshops and trainings were carried out by different projects and include: ÃÃ Tilapia workshop organized by 2SCALE; ÃÃ Training of farmers on USG at GES redemption sites by MARKETS II team; ÃÃ Training of youths on how to spray cocoa farms by MARKETS II; TILAPIA STAKEHOLDERS’

the exercise, a total of 99,154 farmers

youths providing the CPP support were

WORKSHOP

were trained in both states. Furthermore,

referred to as ‘Spray Service Providers

In July, the 2SCALE project organized

efforts to work with the Ministry to ensure

(SSP)’ to denote the role they play in

a tilapia stakeholder workshop was

that farmers can access these unique

protecting crops from pest damage.

organized by 2SCALE to gather ideas

set of fertilizers under the GES scheme

After training, the youths were linked with

needed to address current challenges

is being worked on. According to the

HARVEST FIELD an agro-allied company

faced in the value chain. Participants

IFDC/MARKETS II leader, Idris Salasi

in Nigeria, to access and purchase the

present at the workshop cut across both

Mohammed, “increased awareness of

products needed to provide the spraying

private and public sector of the value

USG fertilizers will have a ripple effect on

services.Ã

chain and they include representatives

demand and supply of the products that

from Ministry of Water Resources,

will invariably lead to more income for

National Program for Food Security

actors’ within the input supply chain.

(NPFS), Abuja Enterprising Agency (AEA), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State, Center for Women and Youth Well-Being and Advocacy (CWYBA), African Fish Company Limited and Durante Fish/Feeds Limited. Based on the outcome of the workshop, it was decided that IFDC through the 2SCALE project will work with fishery companies such as Durante Fish/Feeds to integrate fishermen into a sound business model.Ã

In addition to the USG trainings, the IFDC/MARKETS II are expanding UDP technology to other crops such as maize and sorghum. In Kaduna and Kano states, eight (8) trials of both crops were established with the aim of examining the benefits of the unique set of fertilizers on the crops. The results achieved from the trials will be used to determine the level of expansion in subsequent season.Ã

TRAINING OF SMALL HOLDER DAIRY FARMERS (SHDF) ON IMPROVED FORAGE PLANTS In a bid to boost the milking capacity of cows within respective intervention

TRAINING OF YOUTHS ON HOW TO

areas, the 2SCALE project conducted

SPRAY COCOA FARMS

trainings to potential small holder dairy

To advance smallholders accessibility to quality agricultural inputs and services, MARKETS II, worked with Cocoa farmers to identify youths that will provide spraying services in Cross-River, Ondo and Oyo states. One hundred and fifty-nine youths (159), were trained in weed, pest and disease control services (Crop Protection Products-CPP). The

farmers on how to establish improved forage plants on learning plots. Reddy Jagedshwar, from ADVANTA SEEDS, delivered the training to 23 farmers.

Demonstrations on how to plant three varieties of improved/hybrid forage plants (Nutrifeed, Sugargraze and Jumbo Plus) were made. The training also covered some aspects of dairy production (overview of world

TRAINING OF FARMERS ON USG AT

dairy countries, feeding and

GES REDEMPTION SITES

management of dairy cows).

IFDC/MARKETS II team identified and trained farmers on the Urea Super Granules (USG) in Kano and Niger States.

This was with the aim of increasing awareness of smallholder farmers. During

Progress of the learning plots was continuously monitored at different levels of the plant development.Ã

2SCALE WORKS TO LINK MORE FARMERS TO CREDIT

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n September 2014, the National Cluster Advisor, Ogunsanmi Thompson met with LAPO Micro-Finance officials in Benin, Edo State to discuss the replication of the existing efforts of providing loans to more farmer clusters. The project has

already linked chili pepper producers in Pampida, Kaduna State, to the credit institution, and AACE foods is serving as market guarantee that enables LAPO to disburse loans to farmers. Officials at the meeting concluded that potential clusters should be identified, and the

micro-finance institution should be linked with Notore and to facilitate input distribution and Oikocredit to facilitate input distribution and further financing opportunities respectively.Ã

Larry Tweed: My Nigeria Experience rather than helping the rich become richer. Another conviction to pursue a career in development was when I saw a girl die from tetanus infection, If only the parents could afford to purchase the anti-tetanus injection (which cost $5.00) she may be alive today.

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ello, My name is Larry Tweed, and I am from the state of Pennsylvania, USA. I have worked in international development for over seven years. My career in development began as a Peace Corps Volunteer (a voluntary Mission carried out by US citizens) in the city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan. During my two years of service, I provided capacity building to young law students who volunteered to provide free legal services to people from poor and struggling backgrounds.

This opportunity was a life changing experience for me, as I felt more fulfilled contributing to a developing society

Although Nigeria has been the mainstay of my work in IFDC, I have also worked in Burundi, Kenya, Liberia and South Sudan. Working in these countries, I have learned about a number of cultures making me more open minded about other people’s beliefs and approaches to life. A lot of people from the US, are not well informed about what is happening outside their small towns. Even some of our popular politicians cannot name ten countries in Africa and continue to refer to Africa as a country itself, rather than a continent.

My work in IFDC Nigeria has mainly been on the voucher scheme since its earlier stage as a paper-based system five years ago. Seeing the program grow from just four states to all 36 states in the nation has been a monumental change that has blown

my mind. This change has shown that development can become a reality with the right attitude, people and policies in place. Although challenges do exist in the system, projects such as the GES TAP proffer solutions to reach more farmers, increase efficiency and improve transparency within the system. For example, this year, through the GES-TAP pilot, we discovered that some INEC cards and state driver’s licenses have duplicate ID numbers assigned to multiple individuals. This is a systemic error and not the fault of the farmers. We were able to overcome this challenge and ensure these farmers were included, by working with our partner Consult Hyperion to solve this issue.

As we wrap up the TAP pilot and as I leave Nigeria to go visit my future wife J, I want to say thank you to the IFDC team – keep working hard, keep advancing your education, stand up for your beliefs and stay true to yourselves. I look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces again in the near future! Until then, I will keep dreaming of kilishi and dambur nama.Ã Mrs E. Bassey Head, Information Unit Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority Abuja

IFDC Nigeria #6 Ogbagi Street, Off Oro Ago Crescent Garki 2, Abuja, Nigeria.