Food Sustainability: One Acre Fund Set to Empower 4m Farmers for More Food Production in Nigeria

A nonprofit organisation seeking food sustainability in the country, One Acre Fund, yesterday said the organisation has finalised arrangement to empower four million farmers across the country so as to ensure more food production for the teeming populace.

Also, the organisation would soon collaborate with Seedco to distribute about three million free seedlings to farmers across the country by the year 2030.

Lead, Impact Innovatio of the fund, Dr. Adefunke Adewole, who said this in Share, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State during Kwara harvest day agenda, said this year alone it has distributed about 250,000 free seedlings to farmers in the states it covers.

The event has allowed the farmers in the area to showcase their output for the outgoing year while performing farmers were given awards as part of move to motivate them for more productive results in the coming year.

According to her, “Next year, we are going to scale up to 500,000 seedlings”.

She said, “We are spreading also.  At the moment we are spreading to Plateau and Bauchi States.

“We are already in Nasarawa State. Our big vision is to cover the whole of Nigeria. We intend to serve three million farmers in the next four years. And that is what we are working towards”.

She added that “this year together we have served 75,000 farmers with our credit programme in Niger, Kwara and Nasarawa state.

“Farmers enroll for our credit programme by taking bundle. The bundle comprises of maize, fertilizer, seeds and herbicides and the bundle varies from quarter, half and full hectare.

“Today we are here to celebrate farmers harvest. We have good working relationship with Seedco.

“Our programme in Nigeria started in 2018. Kwara is one of the states we have expanded to.

“We started with the expansion last year. We are trying to see how we can support farmers so that they can improve their productivity through increment in their yields.”

She coveted a good interface with the government of the states in which the programme is currently ongoing.

She said that “we have enjoyed good working relationship with state governments. They have been supportive of our programme. We covet for more of that.”

She revealed that banditry had been a major challenge to the fund’s operation.

Dr. Adewole therefore said, “The issue of banditry has been a major challenge. It prevents our programme from scaling to some places.

“We take security very seriously. So always watch out to see areas where we can operate safely before we move to any area.”