Niger State governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has flagged-off the 2023 wet season sales and distribution of fertilisers as well as other agricultural inputs to farmers in the state.
The event which took place on Monday in Minna, the state capital, was aimed at boosting agricultural activities and guarantee food security in line with his administration’s policy thrust on agriculture.
While calling on the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure equitable distribution, Bago said each of the beneficiaries is entitled to 10 bags of fertilisers, warning that security operatives have been directed to deal with anyone found wanting.
He added that 60,000 bags of the fertilisers have been provided for a start, adding that 120,000 more will be provided to further demonstrate his administration’s resolve to maximise the agricultural potentials that abound in the state.
The governor pledged to revive the Niger State Agricultural Mechanisation Development Agency (NAMDA) with the procurement of 300 tractors out of which 10 will be given to each of the 25 local government areas of the state.
He also announced that Bago Foundation, which is headed by his wife, Hajiya Fatima Umaru Bago, has donated 300 water pumping machines to boost irrigation farming across the state.
The governor encouraged everyone, especially civil servants and youths to key into the agricultural plan of the state by embracing farming and reminded the people to brace up for the developmental agenda of his administration as it might come with some discomforts, assuring that in the end, it will be for the benefit of all.
“This is our way as a government of encouraging farming and agriculture in the state. We must gravitate from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture
“We have put in place structures and machinery for distribution. We have made it a policy that only 10 bags can be sold to an individual
“We are bringing subsidy in agriculture and it must be sustained,” he assured.
On his part, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Idris Usman Gbogan, explained that the state government has approved a 20 percent subsidy of 100 trucks (600 tonnes) of fertilisers .
He said the sales will be done in the designated stores across the state, adding that internal control mechanisms are in place to ensure that only resource constraint farmers benefit.
Gbogan also said that the ministry, local government directors of agriculture, NAMDA zonal officers, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), security operatives and Sarkin Nomas, among others, are the monitoring teams for all the zones in the state.
He commended the governor for his doggedness at ensuring that the agricultural potentials in the state are properly harnessed, disclosing that the ministry has commenced the process of providing one hectare of land to each of the civil servants to cultivate as he directed.
Also, Kauran Minna, Alhaji Mohammed Kpotu Abdullahi, who represented the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Faruk Bahago, said the gesture of the state government to farmers was timely and also called on the governor to empower agriculture extention officers to sensitise farmers on how best to use agricultural technology to increase their yields.
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