The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has revealed that over 2,021,468 farmers have received agricultural inputs and services in five years under the Feed The Future, Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services initiative.
The $16.8 million, five-year project, funded by USAID and PIND, focuses on enhancing access to agricultural technologies for smallholder farmers by partnering with micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Already in its fourth year, the initiative targets 2 million smallholder producers in seven states: Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi, and Niger. It aims to improve productivity in five key value chains: maize, rice, cowpea, soybean, and aquaculture.
As part of the program, 311 MSMEs have been instrumental in disseminating 39 most impactful practices (MIPs), helping farmers adopt improved agricultural technologies.
These MSMEs, which integrate extension services and agricultural inputs into their operations, have boosted the productivity and income of smallholder farmers by 100%, according to USAID’s Feed The Future team.
“About 70% of these practices are climate-smart, helping farmers build resilience to climate change,” the team noted, adding that the project has created 1,088 jobs, primarily for youth, to meet the rising demand for inputs and services.
Jean Pierre-Rousseau, Director of Business Development at Winrock International and Project Director of the USAID Feed The Future Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services initiative, emphasized the transformative impact of the MSMEs involved.
“These 311 MSME units act as catalysts, bringing innovation, information, and productivity-enhancing inputs to the doorstep of smallholder farmers,” he said.
Rousseau highlighted the increased productivity and access to financing that have improved farmers’ incomes and ability to invest in their futures.
Rousseau further emphasized the potential for national expansion, stating, “This model represents the future of extension services in Nigeria. The success we’ve seen in Benue, Delta, Kebbi, and other states should not stop there.”
He added that the role of farmers is critical in achieving Nigeria’s food security goals, aligning with the vision of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
“Together with our partners and the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension, we’ve harnessed Nigeria’s spirit of entrepreneurship to transform extension services and increase farmers’ productivity,” he stated.
Also speaking, Deola Lordbanjour, Director of the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension Service, represented by Ayodele Olawumi, acknowledged the significant gap that USAID’s Feed The Future project has filled in Nigeria’s national agricultural extension system.
Lordbanjour recalled how World Bank funding once propelled public extension services, but when funding diminished, the extension system became inactive. “In 2012, the Federal Government reintroduced agricultural extension as a way to coordinate the national system,” he noted.
With Feed The Future revitalizing extension services and promoting private-sector involvement, stakeholders across federal and state governments, the private sector, and donor agencies are now collaborating to scale these successes nationwide.