Edo empowers 2,078 farmers with irrigation facilities

The Edo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Stephen Idehenre, has disclosed that no fewer than 2,078 Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) have benefitted from irrigation equipment and assets in the state. He disclosed this while flagging off the distribution of the equipment in Benin City, saying, “14 persons were empowered with solar irrigation pumps, […]

The Edo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Stephen Idehenre, has disclosed that no fewer than 2,078 Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) have benefitted from irrigation equipment and assets in the state.

He disclosed this while flagging off the distribution of the equipment in Benin City, saying, “14 persons were empowered with solar irrigation pumps, 436 persons were given 218 pumps while some poultry farmers from Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba Okha and Uhunmwonde LGAs benefitted from feather-picking machines.”  

He explained that the empowerment was part of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) funded by the World Bank, federal government and the Edo State Government, noting the equipment were distributed under the FADAMA Edo CARES window.

He further said, “The distribution of the irrigation equipment and agricultural assets is geared towards revolutionalising the agricultural sector, as well as supporting all-round farming in the state.”

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Idehenre added that a total of 1,832 farmers earlier benefited from the programme in the state.

Earlier, Edward Izevbigie, Edo State Coordinator of the FADAMA project, charged the beneficiaries to make use of the facilities to improve on their farming activities.

Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Kanabe Ahmed, a tomato farmer, commended the federal and state governments for the empowerment.