USADF Signs Three Grants to Support Farmers in Nigeria:

WASHINGTON - May 5, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 5, 2010 – The United States African Development Foundation has signed three grants in Washington, D.C. to support grassroots groups in Nigeria. The grants will benefit Kukula Women Multipurpose Cooperative Society (KWMCS), Sab-Zuro Ginger Farmers Cooperative Society (SGFCS), and Yeyock Sab-Zuro Women Ginger Farmers Cooperative Society (YSWGFCS).

Upon reviewing the grant, USADF President Lloyd Pierson stated, “USADF works with the most marginalized populations, those at the bottom billion.  These grants will work with smallholder farmers, many of whom are women, to increase their incomes and create a higher quality of life.”

A community-based organization involved in the production and processing of rice Bauchi State, KWMCS claims thirty members, all of whom are Nigerian women.  Nigeria’s domestic rice production has lagged behind its growing consumption rates, and the country currently imports about one million metric tons of rice each year.  In Bauchi State, imported rice accounts for 80% of the market.  KWRMCS seeks to increase its production capacity, helping meet Nigeria’s increasing demand for domestically produced rice.  However, KWRMCS’s inefficient production and processing techniques, informal management structure, and lack of working capital constrain its ability to grow and process rice.  The two year grant will provide funds for training, rice processing and milling machines, and a loan account to allow women to purchase seed inputs. 

Both located in Kaduna State, SGFCS and YSWGFCS face similar problems and are aiming to improve the quantity and quality of ginger produced by their members, increasing the profit received by members, and thereby increasing their incomes and standard of living. While Nigeria claims the largest area of land in the world dedicated to ginger cultivation, China and India produce more and better quality ginger than Nigeria.  Other constraints prevent the cooperatives from assisting its members, including poor knowledge of modern ginger production practices, insufficiency of agricultural inputs, and lack of access to the international export market.  Both grantees will receive two year grants that will finance training, procuring inputs and machines, and establishing a processing facility.

SGFCS boasts sixty members and YSWGFCS has seventy-five women members. 

USADF started programming in Nigeria in 2001. Nigeria’s current portfolio stands at thirty-one investment projects totaling more than $5 million.  For more information about the portfolio, please visit the country’s quick source page at http://www.adf.gov/USADF-QuickSourceCountryPortfolioPage-Nigeria.htm .

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunities to the most marginalized populations in Africa. Currently USADF operates in 20 African countries. Over the past 25 years, USADF has funded in excess of $200 million in African initiated and led development projects.  For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov .

###

• Contact Us
• Site Index
• Privacy Statement
• Fair Act
• No Fear Act
• Inspector General Hotline
• Disclaimers