The Fadama III Project has disbursed N1.1 billion to 114 Fadama Community Associations (FCAs) in Cross River in the last four years, the state’s Coordinator, Mr Bassey Elemi, said.
Elemi said in Calabar that the amount represented 99.98 per cent of the total disbursement made to the association during the period under review.
The coordinator said only the 114 associations met the requirements to attract funds from the programme in the state, noting that the Fadama III programme ends this year.
He pointed out that the number was below the targeted 200 associations in Cross River, in a period of five years, noting that 135 persons had their capacity built in the state under the programme since its inception in 2009.
The coordinator said the state government had paid its counterpart funds up to 2012 “and promised to pay the 2013 counterpart funds as soon as money is available.”
He identified the programme’s major challenge in the state as the inability of local government councils to pay their counterpart funds since 2010.
He, however, said the Cross River government had done well in the implementation of the programme, saying
it deserved to be included in the programme extension in 2014.
The state government, he noted, was already holding discussions with authorities of the programme on requirements for inclusion in the extension projects.
According to him, the project extension which would focus on cocoa, rice and cassava production and processing, would begin in the first quarter of 2014.
“So, the state is already trying to see how we can key into the project to increase our cassava production where we have comparative advantage, ?? he said.
