Kogi Government has constructed market infrastructure for farmers and women in the agrarian community of Oke-Ofin in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of the state.
Speaking at the inauguration on Thursday, the State Security Adviser, retired Cdr Jerry Omodara, who represented the governor, commended the state government for the kind gesture towards the people of the community.
Omodara noted that no other infrastructure would have been better for the community than the market infrastructure.
He described the people of the community as agrarians in nature with no suitable socio-economic infrastructure over the years.
Omodara, an indigene of the community, said people usually come from the Northern part of the country to load yams and other farm produce without the market infrastructure.
He praised the governor for what the State Government was doing through the International Fund for Agricultural Development and Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD/VCDP).
The security adviser stressed that the initiative had improved the well-being and livelihoods of the people of the state through its (VCDP) intervention programmes.
He commended the State Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, Dr Stella Adejoh, and her team for siting the market at Oke-Ofin, to improve the livelihoods of the people.
He congratulated the market women who were the main beneficiaries, urging them to utilise it and ensure proper maintenance of the facility.
Earlier, Dr Adejoh expressed gratitude to the governor for his full support for the implementation of VCDP programmes in the five benefitting local government areas of the state
She said that VCDP had immensely impacted the well being and livelihoods of the beneficiaries in the state, thereby reducing poverty among the rural farmers.
The SPC assured the people of continuous support of VCDP to improve their livelihoods , reduce poverty and ensure food security.
She commended the women for cooperating with the state government over years, and enjoined them to utilise the market for the common good of the people.
The programme coordinator encouraged the women folks not to relent in putting in their best to ensure that the objectives of the programmes are achieved.
She stressed that she would be more fulfilled seeing the market infrastructure properly utilised and maintained.
She emphasised that the VCDP objectives was to ensure that small holder farmers were empowered to stem the tide of poverty, hunger and starvation, thereby boosting their livelihoods.
The market women leader, Mrs Funke Joseph, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, thanked the governor, the Federal Government and the IFAD-VCDP for the gesture.
“Market infrastructure is one of our major needs in our community because we are farmers and business women but we have no suitable market infrastructure before the governor and VCDP’s intervention.
“We are very grateful to the governor and the VCDP for the gesture because it will improve our standard of living,” she said.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria