Anambra Farmers Cash In on Value Addition as Cassava, Rice Become Marketable Products

By Praise Chinecherem

AWKA — Farmers in Anambra State are increasingly turning cassava, rice and other agricultural produce into marketable products, boosting their income and creating new opportunities for job creation under the Federal Government/International Fund for Agricultural Development Value Chain Development Programme (FGN/IFAD-VCDP).

The development was showcased at a two-day Interactive Commodity Promotion Show and Agricultural Fair held in Awka on Wednesday.

The event was organised by the FGN/IFAD-VCDP in collaboration with the Anambra State Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation, Processing and Export to provide farmers with greater visibility and connect them with potential markets.

Dr Deborah Onyefulu, State Programme Coordinator of VCDP, said the fair was designed to showcase the impact of the training provided to farmers while strengthening the rice and cassava value chains in the state.

Onyefulu, who was represented by Mrs Mary Obiekwe, Acting State Business and Market Development Officer, said farmers were being equipped with practical skills to process agricultural produce into products with higher market value.

She listed some of the products as cassava moi-moi, chin-chin, cakes and chocolate.

“The fair is to create visibility for our farmers and highlight efforts toward enhancing the rice and cassava value chains for sustainable agricultural transformation.

“We are also assessing how far the farmers have gone with the various trainings they received on cassava, rice and vegetable value chains,” she said.

Farmers from nine participating Local Government Areas of the state — Ayamelum, Anambra East, Anambra West, Orumba North, Awka North, Orumba South, Ihiala, Ogbaru and Aguata — participated in the fair.

The products displayed at the event were assessed by judges from the state Ministry of Agriculture based on economic value, processing, sustainability, nutritional value, packaging, value addition and compliance with recommended agricultural practices.

Speaking on behalf of the judges, Dr Victor Uchemba, an Agricultural Extension Specialist at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, commended the farmers for their commitment to improving the quality and marketability of their products.

Mr John Okafor, Director of Agro Market Square, said the intervention was already yielding positive results, noting that the quality of products produced by Anambra farmers had improved significantly over the past four to five years.

Okafor said his organisation had partnered with farmers to facilitate the off-take of both processed and unprocessed agricultural products.

He, however, called for increased government support through additional training, funding and provision of agricultural inputs to enable farmers to sustain the gains recorded so far.

“Based on the product evaluation, analysis and quality control carried out, I can tell you that Anambra farmers have improved.

“But the farmers need support to drive sustainability because the end goal is to sell, make money, stay in business and create jobs,” he said.

For Mr Nnaemeka Agundu, a farmer from Awka North, the training provided through the FGN/IFAD-VCDP has changed the way he approaches farming as a business.

Agundu said the training had improved his knowledge of processing, packaging and marketing, enabling him to expand his agro-business and improve his income.

“With this fair, we will get more visible in the market, meet the needs of the people and improve our livelihoods,” he said.

The event ended with an assessment of the participating farmers and their products, with Orumba South emerging first, Ihiala second and Aguata third.

The outcome highlighted the growing importance of value addition in helping farmers move beyond the sale of raw agricultural produce to processing, branding and marketing products capable of generating higher returns.

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