The cassava value chain project aims to improve the productivity and incomes of farmers in the cassava sector. This is achieved by incentivizing partners to invest in activities that will improve access to information and quality inputs as well as markets for cassava farmers. Over the years PIND has partnered with key market actors like input companies and agro-dealers to embed demonstrations and training into their marketing and sales models. These partners have continued to report increased sales turnover as a result of this collaboration. PIND has also on-boarded a new set of market actors, farm service providers who continue to provide much-needed support to farmers across the region.
In 2020, PIND plannedt o reach 9,000 farmers directly through interventions/activities in the cassava sector and expand access to improved stem varieties to farmers through strengthened collaboration with the agricultural research institutes, to onboard and train Village Seed Entrepreneurs (VSE) in the region. Through these activities, cassava farmers are expected to increase their incomes and jobs in the sector.
In Q4 2020, PIND focused on expanding demonstrations and training activities to enable farmers take advantage of the late planting season to ameliorate the impact of the COVID-19pandemic which disrupted planting activities in the previous quarter. Also in the reporting period, there was a successful launch (virtual) of collaboration between the BASICS II project funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The launch followed the signing of a tripartite MoU between the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), and PIND. The MoU seeks to onboard 80 new Cassava Seed Entrepreneurs (VSEs) to improve cassava seeds system in the Niger Delta region.
