The FCT FADAMA CARES programme of the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat (FCTA) was initiated to stem the negative tides of the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Programme was designed and initiated by the federal government to restore the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable rural farmers. The programme became necessary in the wake of the Covid pandemic whose adverse effects transverse all sectors of our national economy and the socioeconomic life of most people worldwide. The adverse effects was felt even more by the poor rural farmers .

DPat Foundation’s Role in Bridging the Gaps between the Government and Rural Community Farmers

You will agree with me that when programmes and incentives such as this are carried out, a lot of rural communities and grassroots people are often not carried along as a result of challenges of communication gaps. This is where DPat Foundation, known for its active roles in community and grassroots works, comes in. Aware that many communities within the FCT were unaware of the FADAMA Cares Programme, the President/Founder, DPat Foundation, Elder Mrs. Patience Ardey put her team together to reach out to the communities with this news.

 

Thus in 2022, the foundation ensured that grassroots farmers and rural women were informed of this and their data were captured on behalf of FADAMA, according to the needs of each the farmer and women. After series of screening by FCT FADAMA, the farmers were called in batches and given the agricultural and farm input to their delight and amazement. Many of the farmers expressed pleasant surprises, because, according to them, they never believed the programme was going to be as transparent, targeted and on point as it turned out to be.

 

Below are photos of the beneficiaries posting with their farm inputs.

Pre-Disbursement Capacity Building Training for the Beneficiaries

Capacity building training was also agonized by FCT FADAMA for the beneficiaries. The training which took place at the DPat Foundation Secretariat in Gwagwalad FCT, focused on:

 

  • Group dynamics: covering the process of forming, managing/running cooperatives as well as the process of electing leaders/executives.
  • Book keeping for farmers: covering the art of business and financial record keeping.
  • Monitoring and evaluation: this focused on how groups can monitor the performance of members, especially in the areas of loan repayment.
  • Community based procurement: focused on how groups can do business as a body by procuring items at cheaper rates and reselling them to members at affordable prices.
  • Environmental and social safeguards: covering how rural communities can take care of their environment.
  • Nutrition and hygiene: covering the act of personal hygiene and family nutrition.
  • Questions and answer sections/Evaluations: there were also questions from the trainees which were satisfactorily answered by the facilitators. Questions were also thrown to the trainees by the facilitators to evaluate their level of comprehension and gains from the training.
  • Etc.

The FCT FADAMA facilitators took their time to break down the contents of the training to the level that the rural farmers can understand by using both English and Hausa languages which was understood by most of the participants 

 

Below are pictures from the training.