The programme aims to improve incomes and food security of poor rural households engaged in production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava on a sustainable basis.
VCDP works to enhance productivity and access to markets for rice and cassava smallholder farmers through a commodity value chain approach.
Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) is a six-year development initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) programme that focuses on supporting cassava and rice value chains for small farmers in the nine states...
Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) is a development initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Programme
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Benue State, known as the “Food Basket of the Nation”, is located in the North Central region of Nigeria. It’s characterized by its fertile land and agricultural produce. The state is named after the Benue River, which flows through it. Benue State was created on February 3, 1976, and is predominantly inhabited by the Tiv, Idoma, and Igede peoples. Commonly spoken languages include Tiv, Idoma, and Igede. It covers a land area of 34,059 km², making it one of the largest states in Nigeria. The state consists of 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Economy:
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, with crops like yams, rice, soybeans, sesame seeds, and shea nuts being cultivated. The state is a major producer of these crops, hence the nickname “Food Basket of the Nation”. Mining activities are also present, with deposits of lead, limestone, tin, niobium, and marble.
Capital: Makurdi
Population: The state has an estimated population of over 5 million people as of 2024, based on projections from the 2006 census.
Participating LGAs
Dr Emmanuel Igbaukum
Dr. Igbaukum Emmanuel was born in Abeda Mbadyul, Logo LGA of Benue State, Nigeria, over 40 years ago. He is a dedicated professional with a rich background. He pursued his education at RCM Primary School Tsenge Ugba and Government College Katsina, obtaining his WAEC. Emmanuel holds first and second degrees from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State and a Ph.D. in Environmental Economics and Management at the same institution. His career spans roles at Inter-grate consultancy and FADAMA III, where he uplifted communities. Since 2014, he has excelled as the State Programme Coordinator for FGN/IFAD – Value Chain Development Programme in Benue State, significantly boosting productivity and supporting local economies. Married to Princess Tina Igbaukum, he is a father of 5 children contributing immensely to sustainable development in Benue State.
Office Address
BNARDA Headquarter
Km 4 Old Otukpo Road Makurdi,
Benue State.
Nigeria is predisposed to severe negative impacts from climate change due to its fragile economy, weak resilience and low adaptive capacity. Rural livelihoods significantly depend on the performance of climate sensitive natural resources, especially in the agricultural sector. Environmental degradation, extreme weather and long-term climate change that undermine the natural resource stock and productive landscapes pose important challenges to sustainable agriculture, livelihoods and food security. Future climate scenarios project a consistent temperature rise (about 0.02oC per year from 2000 until 2100) and increase in variability and occurrences of extreme events leading to possible dry spells, droughts, floods, recurrence of locust and pests and reductions in yield. Annual flooding from the Niger and Benue Rivers and local tributaries and resource conflicts have heightened loss on agricultural investments and soil fertility and human insecurity.
VCDP is stepping up environmental and climate change activities under a systematic strategy that includes mainstreaming options for green growth and climate-smart production and processing, improvement of resilience through deepening of insurance and “no regrets” options, and provision of appropriate climate information.
In Nigeria, a major constraint faced by women in the agricultural sector is lack of access to formal credit. This challenge is felt more acutely by women than men. According to a 2022 report by ActionAid, 77% of Nigerian women in the agri-food systems lack access to government credits like those in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other financial institutions. Activities in the agri-food systems and most informal sectors of the rural economy of developing nations including Nigeria require lots of capital which most women lack (World Bank, 2012). According to Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA)’s Access to financial services in Nigeria 2020 survey, women are more financially excluded than men – only 45 per cent of women use formal financial services, compared with 56 per cent of men. Access to formal credit becomes a huge challenge for these women as they cannot build/grow their businesses in line with their aspirations.
The overall goal of financial inclusion in VCDP is to ensure that farmers have sustainable access to financial services after exiting two times matching grant support for inputs and one-time matching grant support for equipment. More also, other value chain actors such as financial services, off-takers, insurance services were able to provide financial services directly or indirectly to them. The services include savings, credit, cashless credit with off-takers and insurance services. In order to achieve this, the programme developed a financial inclusion strategy which covers the following strategic areas:
Under financial literacy training, the major goal is to ensure that VCDP beneficiaries understand the concept of financial terminologies used by service providers and make informed decision about financial services. Under technical assistance support to financial institutions, the major objective is to ensure that the programme provides a structured demand-driven and result-oriented capacity building support to financial institutions which will enable them to provide sustainable financial services in terms of friendly financial products (savings and credits) to VCDP beneficiaries.
Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) is a six-year development initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) programme that focuses on supporting cassava and rice value chains for small farmers in the nine states…