The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development Programme (IFAD) assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), on Tuesday, distributed livelihood support to 160 indigent women in Niger.
Dr Mathew Ahmed, the State Programme Coordinator (SPC) IFAD-VCDP, made this known while inaugurating the exercise in Mokwa Local Government Area of the state.
Ahmed said that the programme, under the VCDP Additional Financing (AF), would ensure balanced diets for the families of the vulnerable women, thereby uplifting their living standard.
“The IFAD-VCDP called for AF to be able to reduce malnutrition among children by 15 per cent.
“The VCDP AF is to support the vulnerable among women, such as widows, the physically challenged and the financially handicapped, to be able to provide balanced diets to their families, thereby uplifting their living standard.
“This year we are supporting 20 women from each of the benefiting eight Local Government Areas of Bida, Borgu, Katcha, Kontagora, Mokwa, Shiroro and Wushishi, making a total of 160 beneficiaries,” he said.
He explained that ten out of every benefiting 20 would get one local cock, one local hen and N10,000 to multiply the birds.
While the other ten would be given horticultural crops including two suckers of plantains, two suckers of bananas, five seedlings of moringa plants, five seeds of fluted pumpkin seeds, two seedlings of citrus and N5,400 to improve the farm.
The Coordinator said that the project had committed N2 million to support the women, adding that the VCDP had also developed a monitoring mechanism, with its extension agents, to check and advise the beneficiaries on weekly basis.
He said that when the project’s finances improves in 2022, it would target a different set of 50 vulnerable women from each of the eight local government areas, to also benefit from the livelihood support.
Also speaking, Alhaji Yahaya Sheti, the local government council Chairman urged the beneficiaries to utilise the livelihood support items for the successful implementation of the programme.
NAN
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