Agency to guarantee price of farm produce takes off in Kaduna

The Kaduna State Government and its private sector partners have announced the take-off of the Kaduna Produce Management Company (KADPMC). Special assistant to the Kaduna governor on media and publicity, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement said KADPMC’s mandate is to provide support for famers in a way that rewards output and encourages farmers to produce […]

The Kaduna State Government and its private sector partners have announced the take-off of the Kaduna Produce Management Company (KADPMC).

Special assistant to the Kaduna governor on media and publicity, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement said KADPMC’s mandate is to provide support for famers in a way that rewards output and encourages farmers to produce more.

The company is expected to announce the minimum guaranteed price it would offer farmers in Kaduna State for selected crops such as maize, ginger, soya beans, sorghum and tomatoes in the 2018 cropping season.

Aruwan said the company is expected to channel output support by guaranteeing minimum prices for selected crops and acting as a buyer of last resort when necessary.

"The company will also be responsible for the produce aggregation, storage and quality control services that the old commodity and marketing boards used to provide for farmers and buyers," he explained.

The Kaduna government said the boost to farm output from KADPMC activities is expected to energise value chain promotion by making raw materials readily available to serve the agro-cluster in the Green Agro-Allied Industrial Zone (GAAIZ) that has Olam’s poultry project and OCP Africa’s fertilizer operations as anchor tenants.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai got the approval of the Kaduna State Executive Council for the establishment of KADPMC on 28th November 2016. The agency is conceived as a private-sector led and managed entity, initiated by the Kaduna State Government, to support farmers in the state in a sustainable manner.