CSNews Desk
At least two million Nigerian households have been trained by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in various farming methods to increase productivity in farming and scaling up small time farmers to become commercial level farmers.
Managing Director of USAID/Market II, Mr Harvey Schartup said this at the presentation of a tractor grant to Mbaikyor Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS) Limited in Mano, Katsina-Ala local government area of Benue state, saying the Mbaikyor Multi-Purpose cooperative society won the award after a thorough competitive assessment.
“We look at farmers who consider farming as a business, who demonstrate team work and who can serve as a model to others. We are providing this tractor not only to support the cooperatives and their members to further their own production opportunities but also to allow them to develop a commercial tractor business to service the other farmers in their communities,” he said.
Earlier in his welcome address, Professor Lawrence Ega, the Managing Director of Egalf Venture Limited said the company as contractors to USAID has been involved from the beginning in the project aimed at improving agricultural productivity.
In Bauchi, USAID is to partner the Bauchi State government in the area of development of its education sector.
USAID Nigeria mission Director, Michael Harvey disclosed this during the launching of ‘Northern Education Initiative Plus’ in Bauchi yesterday.
The initiative is a five-year programme by USAID to improve educational delivery in some selected states. A similar programme was launched earlier in Sokoto State.
