Yahaya Mato – GIS and Web2forDev Specialist.
APRIL, 2016
BRIEF ABOUT NEAZDP:
Know by Its acronym as NEAZDP, The North East Arid Zone Development Programme is an integrated rural development project established in 1990, during the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida; The head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in collaboration with the then European Economic Community (EEC) now European Union (EU), FGN and old Borno state Government, now Yobe state.
The Headquarter of NEAZDP is located at Garin Alkali, Bursari Local Government of Yobe state. The programme covers the arid zone areas, consisting nine local governments out of the seventeen local governments of Yobe state, Namely; Bade, Bursari, Geidam, Jakusko, Karasuwa, Machina, Nguru, Yunusari and Yusufari Local Governments.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF NEAZDP:
NEAZDP was established to achieve the following objectives identified on basis of philosophy, method, project and encouragement, to motivate and assist the rural population to improve their standard of living by the proper use and management of natural resources.
Philosophy: NEAZDP facilitates rural development.
NEAZDP supports the rural development work of local government and state government.
NEAZDP gives credit to productive projects.
NEAZDP gives technical assistance and advice.
NEAZDP provides support to social projects.
Projects: Productive projects in villages generate cash and goods which are reinvested to the villages.
Projects: Productive projects in villages generate cash and goods which are reinvested to the villages.
Encouragement: Technically and commercially sound production system, self employment and improved employment opportunities in primary production. Strong and efficient local institutions such as Local Government Councils, Traditional ruling system, Schools, Health facilities, Commercial enterprises, hygienic and reliable water supply. Improved nutritional and health standard.
NEAZDP has recorded a significant number of success and achieved most of its objectives in terms of Agricultural and Rural development, and control of desertification among others. EU withdrew its support in 1995, while Federal Government of Nigeria follows EU in 2002 and withdrew as well. Since then, the Yobe State Government continued with funding the programme.
Before the EU’s withdrawal, the mid-term review report of 1994 had rated NEAZDP activities as the most successful rural development in Nigeria with the ESPO (Procurement services for the public sector) evaluation of the EU funded programmes. In 2006 EU had equally revealed that NEAZDP was the only programme that had structures and sound extension system after the departure of its Initiators.
The exit of FGN and EU had greatly affected the performance of NEAZDP, yet it doesn’t weaken its spirit for agricultural and rural development. Despite the challenges such as recession in the riverine areas that is being inflicted by shortage of water and manifestation of Typha grass popularly known in local language as “Kachala” which have greatly affects the arable land and reduced its proportionate agricultural production, NEAZDP still engaged in its activities through introduction of land reclamation, sand dune fixation and stabilization, and Oasis development.
In 2009, Yobe state Government under the leadership of Gov. Ibrahim Geidam had began to review the activities of NEAZDP by injecting fund to resuscitate the programme and equally gave a standing order N9million monthly to fund the programme, through partnership where N1million each from the 9 LGA’s within the programme. NEAZDP has achieved a lot through the partnership programme, notably are the following among others:
Rehabilitation of Primary and Secondary schools
Distribution of instructional materials to schools
Support to physically challenged persons
Support for the vulnerable such as widows and IDPs
Ecological support through yearly production of seedlings at its central and satellite Nurseries to check desertification.
Soft loan to farmers to be repaid by grains of same value on period time, more than just a year or two depending on the outcome of the crops yield. If by nature drought affects the proportionate production, NEAZDP in its wisdom supports those farmers with its stocked grains to carter for their domestic needs and forge ahead.
Supply of medicine to primary health care centres across the programme area to carter for the children and maternal care.
Rehabilitation of Health centres and installation of power Generators and Solar powered inventers to support the cool chains.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF NEAZDP:
NEAZDP is structured by four components and units, inta-alia:
PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT UNIT – PMU; is the administrative component. The Programme Manager being the Head of NEAZDP as well as the PMU. Under PMU, there number of unit such as;
Administrative Unit
Finance and Audit unit
Credit and Loan unit
Store unit
Hotel and catering unit
Engineering services unit
Workshop unit
Appropriate Technology unit
Monitoring and Evaluation unit
Sports and Recreation unit.
Field Team Coordination unit
Development Area Promoters (DAPs) and Village Development Promoters (VDPs)
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION COMPONENT – AP; this is in other words called Arid Zone development centre which is concerned with agricultural activities as well as desertification control unit. It have the following units;
Agronomy unit
Horticultural unit
Forestry unit
Veterinary and Medical Laboratory unit
Hydrology and Meteorology unit
Geographical Information Systems GIS unit
Aquaculture Unit
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMPONENT – CD; is the component that renders the affairs of community development through rural development interface. It consist the following units;
Man power development and training, also known as Human resourses development
Primary Health Care management unit
Mass awareness and social mobilization unit
NEAZDP Nursery and Primary school
Library unit.
VILLAGE WATER SUPPLY COMPONENT – VWS; is one of the component that NEAZDP through it affects the supply of portable drinking water to the rural and urban centres within the programme coordinating area.