The District Head of Maihula, Sulaiman Mohammed, has commended the FADAMA III Second Additional Financing (AFII) programme for restoring the livelihoods of people in the area.
Mohammed gave the commendation on Tuesday in Maihula, Bali Local Government Area of Taraba, when the Internal Mission teams of FADAMA III (AFII) programme, led by Dr Ben Herbert, visited the community.
He said that the intervention programme had really changed the lives of the beneficiaries while reducing the suffering of the residents of the community.
“There are a lot of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Maihula and they came from various states in the northeastern part of the country because of the Boko Haram insurgency.
“We have more than 3,500 IDPs who encountered problems and relocated from their communities; they have come back to their homes and most of them are farmers but they are financially handicapped.
“The World Bank assisted them through the FADAMA III (AFII) project so as to alleviate their hardship. Over 40 households have received food items, livestock and crops to start life afresh,’’ he said.
Also, Mr Umar Jibrin, the Chairman of the Community Action Plans (CAPS), commended the World Bank, on behalf of the people, for the Food Security and Livelihood Emergency Support Project of the FADAMA programme.
“Our people really benefited from the project; four households have received agricultural inputs to start farming and 36 households have engaged in livestock farming. The scheme has really tackled many economic problems in our community.
“We are still looking up to the World Bank, the Federal Government and the Taraba State Government to assist more IDPs because we want them to also enjoy what we have benefited from the project,’’ he said.
Mr Samuel Kyumen, Secretary of the IDPs group, said that the FADAMA III (AFII) programme had really facilitated efforts to restore hope and life to the IDPs.
“The FADAMA project supported us with numerous items like food items, livestock, farm inputs, capacity building and advisory services to do the right thing.
“These interventions have really helped transformed the lives of our people but we are appealing to the World Bank to extend the project to cover those who have yet to benefit from the project,’’ he said.
Earlier, Herbert, leader of the mission teams, commended the project implementation processes in the area and thanked the traditional ruler, the beneficiaries and the state government for their contributions to the success of the project.
“We are happy to see the beneficiaries; we are also glad to note that the project is going on well in the community and the state as a whole.
“This is part of the efforts of the Federal Government to support those who were affected during the insurgency.
“You must have suffered a lot by receiving a lot of displaced people from different states and communities; as result of that, your community was over-stressed.
“We are executing the intervention with the funds given to us by the World Bank and I want to encourage you to use whatever you have been given very well.
“I am assuring you that FADAMA is just laying the foundation, compared to what is coming thereafter.
“The Federal Government has already initiated a bill on the creation of the North East Development Commission which will take care of all the areas in the North East that are affected by the insurgency.
“FADAMA has done very well with its food assistance, cash-for-work, infrastructure and livelihood support schemes,’’ he added.