African Development Bank Project will boost Potato cultivation in Nigeria

The African Development Bank (AfDB) potato value chain project that will boost potato farming will commence in the State Plateau (Nigeria) soon.

The Coordinator of the project, Mr Thaddeus Yelwa, made the disclosure in an interview with journalists in Jos on Monday.

According to him, once the project commences, the state will be producing Irish potato three to four times annually.

Yelwa explained that the project aimed at improving the quality and quantity of potato farming in the state would empower farmers with improved seedlings and other farming tools.

He added that the value chain project would be an offshoot of Fadama ll programme which ended in 2012.

Thaddeus Yelwa:

“Plateau is rated the leading state in terms of execution and utilisation of funds made available by AfDB for Fadama ll projects. “This is why the bank has also agreed to include us in the six states that will benefit from the additional funding.”

“This time around the money will be channel into improving potato farming because we produce it in high quantity here in Plateau.”

“This project will soon take off, and it will cover the aspect of production, storage, processing, which is value addition and also marketing of the product.”

“Let me assure you that with all modalities put in place, Plateau will be producing potato four to five times in a year once the project begins.”

He further explained that with project on full course, potato farmers would smile home as ordeals they usually encounter would be taken care of by the project.

He urged Plateau citizens to go into potato farming, saying “it is a very lucrative and viable business’’. (NAN)