The Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining and expanding the achievements of the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), with plans to extend its interventions to all 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State while deepening rice and cassava value addition to improve farmers' incomes and livelihoods.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Angel Adelaja-Kuye, made this known during an engagement with the executive members of the Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF), led by its Chairman, Alhaji Kamorudeen Shokunbi, at the Ministry's Conference Room in Abeokuta.

Dr. Adelaja-Kuye, said the IFAD-assisted VCDP had recorded remarkable successes in empowering farmers, particularly women and youths, through capacity-building programmes, improved agricultural practices and training in cassava processing and other value addition activities.

She noted that beneficiaries of the programme had acquired practical skills in the production of high-quality cassava flour and other cassava-based products, demonstrating the enormous commercial potential of locally processed agricultural commodities and creating additional sources of income for rural households.

The Special Adviser added that the Ministry had also explored innovative ways to promote commercial utilisation of cassava peels and other by-products, stressing that every component of the crop could be transformed into valuable products, thereby eliminating waste, promoting environmental sustainability and increasing farmers' profitability.

 "There should be nothing wasted in cassava production. We are looking at ways to add value to cassava peels and other by-products so that farmers can maximise returns from their harvest," she said.

She further explained that beyond cassava and rice, the programme's current priority commodities in the Ministry were to develop strategies to incorporate additional agricultural value chains in order to broaden economic opportunities for farmers and strengthen agricultural value chain development across the State.

The Special Adviser, stressed that the Ministry was equally committed to strengthening the farmers' association established under the programme, noting that the association had already begun taking significant steps toward self-reliance by funding its activities through members' contributions and registration fees in preparation for the eventual exit of donor support.

Dr. Adelaja-Kuye, called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, development partners, private sector stakeholders, farmers' organisation and the media to sustain the gains recorded under the VCDP and ensure that more farmers across Ogun State benefit from increased productivity, value addition, improved market access and enhanced food security.

Earlier in his remarks, Chairman of the Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF), Alhaji Kamorudeen Shokunbi, explained that the Forum is the apex body of all VCDP commodity groups in Ogun State that was established by the IFAD-assisted VCDP as an official exit strategy institution to manage, maintain and sustain all VCDP infrastructure, investments and institutional assets across the 8 participating LGAs.

Shokunbi, disclosed that the Forum represented over 15,000 smallholder farmers, processors, marketers and agribusiness actors engaged in rice, cassava and other agricultural value chains mandated to ensure that the over ₦1.2 billion investment jointly made by IFAD, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government continues to deliver lasting benefits through a sustainable, member-driven operational structure.

He appealed to Ogun State Government to continue providing policy direction, technical advisory support and institutional collaboration to enable the Forum effectively discharge its mandate and preserve the legacy of the VCDP for future generations of farmers.