The FCTA received a total allocation of $15 million from the World Bank for the implementation of the Fadama FCT CARES programme.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration has allocated $4.5 million to the FCT Fadama CARES programme to implement three Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs).
The FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, disbursed the grants to the third batch of FCT FADAMA CARES beneficiaries for the year 2023/2024 dry season production in Abuja on Thursday
The FCTA received a total allocation of $15 million from the World Bank for the implementation of the FCT CARES programme.
The administration and the World Bank had set a target for the FCT Fadama CARES programme to provide grant support to 12,283 individual farmers and upgrade 17 wet markets across the territory.
Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many micro and small scale enterprises (MSEs) in Nigeria were forced to shut down, leading to job losses and a halt in the provision of essential services in poor communities. As a result, the number of Nigerians living below the poverty line has increased.
In response to the situation, the Federal Government of Nigeria partnered with the World Bank to implement a two-year emergency response programme called Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES).
The programme aims to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
The World Bank has provided $750 million to be on-lent to the states and FCT, with each state receiving $20 million, FCT receiving $15 million, and the Federal CARES Support Unit being allocated $15 million.
Agricultural sector
While disbursing the grants, Mrs Mahmoud said ''the agricultural sector has been chosen as one of the critical intervention areas under the ''Renewed Hope Agenda'' to facilitate food and nutritional security, provision of raw materials to local industries, generation of employment for the unemployed youth, and contribute towards increasing the inflow of foreign exchange through export.''
She noted that the specific objective of the FCT Fadama CARES programme is to increase food security and safe functioning of the food supply chain in the FCT.
She further stated that the programme is deliberately designed to support the recovery of livelihood activities of the poor and vulnerable households engaged in agricultural value chains in the FCT with special consideration to women and unemployed youth.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
''Its implementation is being anchored on the World Bank Community Driven Development approach for deployment of programme investments at the community level,'' the minister added.
Also speaking, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Olusade Adesola, stated that other delivery platforms implementing result areas 1 and 3 of the FCT CARES programme, namely the FCT Cash Transfer Unit, FCT Community and Social Development Project, and Abuja Enterprise Agency, have since commenced the implementation of their respective DLIs.
In his remark, the Secretary of ARDS, Lawal Geidam, said the ARDS is always ready to provide the necessary support to the FCT Fadama CARES program in delivering this vital project.
''We will work with you closely during the project implementation and will not hesitate to make available to you our technical and financial resources to ensure its successful delivery,'' he said.
The items distributed at the event include fertilizers, seeds and agrochemicals, sprayers and personal protective equipment for crop farmers, day-old chicks and feeds for poultry farmers, juvenile feeds for fish farmers, goats for livestock farmers, and grinding machines for women processors.
