Ifdc quarterly report4

Quarterly Report

IFDCNigeria AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2014 JANUARY – MARCH

1. Building and strengthening Capacity of management staff 2. Provided Trainings on Best Agronomic Practices 3. Boosting the Capacity of Local Technicians within Intervention Areas 4. Facilitated Study Tour on Consult Hyperion For Nigerian Government Officials 5. Roll Out of the GES-TAP Pilot Project in FCT 6. Collaborated with Media Development Organizations to Increase Awareness of IFDC’s activities

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BUILDING AND STRENGTHENING CAPACITY OF MANAGEMENT STAFF

ÃÃ Eliminates the need for transplant; ÃÃ Enable farmers to obtain maximum returns from the use of briquetted Urea.

A total number of 32 trainees participated in the training workshop.

Furthermore, the project worked to develop the capacity of agro-dealers in both private and public sector.

MARKETS II through IFDC trained over 66 agro-dealers,( 4 females and 62 males) across its various intervention areas. Participants included agro-dealers from NOVUS Agro limited, an agricultural Market and professional service firm that offers agrobased information and consultancy services to agro-dealers.

Participants at the end of the workshop.

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o improve effective management of resources within the IFDC Nigerian office, three (3) management staff participated in a four-day workshop that was facilitated by Inside NGO, a consultant firm certified to conduct training on USAID procedures. The program which was held from the 3rd to 6th of February 2014 focused its trainings on USAID Rules and Regulations as well as on USAID SubAward Management. Although the trainings were focused on USAID’s Practices, a participant from IFDC stated that the knowledge gained can be applied to the management of other project activities and further suggested that the trainings should be stepped down to relevant staff to maximize the outcome of the trainings.

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PROVIDED TRAININGS ON BEST AGRONOMIC PRACTICES

or farmers to harness the great potential of the Urea Deep placement (UDP) technology,MARKETS II - IFDC facilitated a four-day training on Direct Paddy Seeder (DPS) for beneficiaries-farmers, partners and staff. The objective of the training was to get all participants acquainted with the technology. The DPS technology is a revolutionary equipment that will:

ÃÃ Save farmers time in sowing paddy into wetland fields; ÃÃ Reduce drudgery in planting;

DPS Training Session in the field.

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BOOSTING THE CAPACITY OF LOCAL TECHNICIANS WITHIN INTERVENTION AREAS

ecognizing the importance of using quality raw materials in the production of dairy products, Friesland Campina WAMCO (FCW) and the 2SCALE project worked together to identify and train local technicians, that will be contracted to maintain and service Milk Cold Chain Facilities at the Milk Collection Centers (MCC’s). These technicians were selected from the intervention areas of the project, with the aim of having nearby experts that can support the maintenance of the facilities. A total number of 10 participants were trained and certified through the program.

Nigerian Delegates and CHYP staff at Gilford United Kingdom.

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FACILITATED STUDY TOUR ON CONSULT HYPERION FOR NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

n preparation for the roll out of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme Touch and Pay (TAP)-GES-TAP. IFDC Nigeria Country Representative, Scott Wallace led a team that comprised of the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (FMARD), Directors of FMARD, officails of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), FCT and Sokoto state to Consult Hyperion, a UK based IT firm in the United Kingdom in February 2014.

The aim of the study tour was to familiarize the Nigerian delegates with Consult Hyperion and its unique technology, which is being used under the GES-TAP pilot project. The participants of the study tour were made aware of the benefits of the technology which includes:

ÃÃ Farmer registration details are captured electronically; ÃÃ Agro-dealers can execute transactions regardless of mobile coverage; ÃÃ Detailed reports generated automatically; ÃÃ Fraud prevention and detection measures.

Farmers at registration Center in Karishi, FCT

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ROLL OUT OF THE GES-TAP PILOT PROJECT IN FCT

eeking to address the challenges experienced in the GES scheme, IFDC and Consultant Hyperion are working together to implement the GES-TAP pilot project funded by the Department For International Development

(DFID). The project which was launched on the 17th of March 2014 in Gwagwalada, FCT, targets 200,000 farmers in the six area councils. As at the point of writing this report, a total of more than 27,000 farmers had registered and received their GES-TAP cards.

Ginger farmers and processor in Kaduna state, Fulani farmers in Oyo state, Milk Collection Center in Oyo state, Mile 12 Market in Lagos state, INDORAMA and Notore plants in Rivers State.

Showcasing fertilizer briquetting process to the visionaries team.

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COLLABORATING WITH MEDIA DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF IFDC’S ACTIVITIES

In March 2014, IFDC Nigeria worked with a team of veterans in documentary production from Visionaries- a public television series- to produce a segment of the organizations’ activities in the country. Beneficiaries/Partners who participated in the activity include; Agro-dealers in Niger State,

Capturing some footage and interviewing beneficiaries in each of these intervention areas, helped to tell a story of the work IFDC does as well as how we promote agricultural development in Nigeria. ii. Following the roll-out of the GES TAP pilot project, development organizations such as Grow Africa came to share lessons learned under the pilot. Grow Africa, is a partnership platform that seeks to accelerate investments and transformative change in African Agriculture. A field tour to three of the registration centers- Tunga-maje (Gwagwalada), Kirshi and Karu (AMAC) was conducted by an IFDC zonal-coordinator for the representative of the Organization

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