Nigerian smallholder farmers have earned over $40 million in agricultural sales under the Federal Government and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) co-funded Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).
The IFAD Country Director, Dede Ekoue, disclosed this during the inception workshop of the 12th Joint Federal Government of Nigeria and IFAD Supervision Mission of the VCDP, held on Tuesday in Abuja.
Ekoue described the $334 million programme as a transformative initiative strengthening Nigeria's food systems, boosting productivity, and improving rural livelihoods — particularly within the rice and cassava value chains.
She noted that rice yields among participating farmers have risen to 5–6 metric tonnes per hectare, compared to the national average of 2–2.5 tonnes.
Through the Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF) — the programme's public-private-producer partnership platform — farmers have recorded over $40 million in sales from 878 formal agreements with off-takers, benefiting more than 16,000 rice farmers across participating states.
"These achievements reflect the power of collaboration between federal and state governments, farmers, communities, the private sector, and IFAD," Ekoue said. "We are proud to see how the VCDP aligns with President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP), and the AU Kampala Declaration on agricultural transformation."
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She added that over 39,000 beneficiaries, including 12,000 youth and 22,000 women, have been trained in income-generating activities, helping them transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture.
The programme has also promoted sustainability by converting agricultural by-products into briquettes and animal feed, creating new business opportunities for women and youth.
To enhance resilience, IFAD has introduced climate-smart agricultural practices, digital weather and market information tools, and investments in irrigation, land development, and erosion control through the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP).
Ekoue announced that IFAD has approved a two-year extension for the VCDP to consolidate its gains and achieve new milestones.
The National Programme Coordinator of VCDP, Fatima Aliyu, said the initiative has proven that smallholder farming can be both profitable and sustainable.
"When you visit any VCDP state, you see ownership and real transformation," she said. "Our farmers are now employers of labour and creditworthy. They have shown that smallholder farming can deliver economic scale."
Also speaking, Iluromi Adebola, Director of the Federal Department of Development Partners Projects (FD-DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, described the VCDP as one of the government's flagship agricultural initiatives.
She said the programme, implemented in Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Benue, Enugu, Ebonyi, Taraba, Anambra, and Ogun States, continues to deliver impressive results in productivity, market access, and inclusion of women and youth.
The ongoing supervision mission, which runs through October 31, will evaluate progress, share best practices, and make recommendations to strengthen implementation and scale up impact in the coming years.
