By Awwal Umar Kontagora Niger State Acting Governor, Comrade Yakubu Garba, has flagged off the 2024 agricultural inputs and assets distrib...
By Awwal Umar Kontagora
Niger State Acting Governor, Comrade Yakubu Garba, has flagged off the 2024 agricultural inputs and assets distribution to farmers across the 25 LGAs of the state under the N-CARES Result Area 2 scheme.
The event, held at the Niger State Mechanisation and Development Authority (NAMDA) in Minna, was organized under the auspices of the State Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with FADAMA N-CARES and Bago CARES.
He stated that the initiative aims to enhance the government’s capacity to support vulnerable families and facilitate the recovery of local economic activities.
The Acting Governor disclosed that the intervention will benefit 94,500 individuals who will receive agricultural inputs, assets, and small primary processing equipment. Additionally, 37,500 farmers will gain access to improved agricultural infrastructure, with 30 markets scheduled for rehabilitation.
Comrade Garba reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to investing heavily in agricultural development to increase food production, stimulate agro-industrialization, and provide employment opportunities in line with the New Niger agenda of the current administration.
He also assured that the state government is dedicated to attracting investments and supporting the interventions of development partners across various aspects of the agricultural value chain.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Alh. Musa Bawa Bosso, explained that the distribution of inputs and assets to farmers is timely, as the rains have recently resumed after a long break. He urged farmers to make good use of the agro-inputs to recover losses from initial distributions.
He further disclosed that 13,600 out of the 94,500 beneficiaries will receive crops, aquaculture, and poultry support, while 30,000 individuals from Internally Displaced Camps and flood victims will benefit from food assistance under the agricultural inputs program.
The Commissioner also revealed that 37,500 farmers will have access to 173 agricultural infrastructure projects, including roads, culverts, mini bridges, and solar boreholes, spread across the 25 local government areas of the state. Additionally, 13,400 farmers and processors will benefit from production and processing assets.
The Managing Director of NAMDA, Alh. Mohammed Aliyu Baba, emphasized the need to focus on irrigation infrastructure. He explained that visibility studies have been conducted, and 17 irrigation projects have been highlighted for use by farmers.
In his remarks, the Vice Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Niger State Chapter, Eng. Abdulrahman Yakubu, while commending the tireless efforts of the Bago-led administration in revitalizing agriculture in the state, acknowledged that the availability of tractors and other implements will undoubtedly enhance agricultural production. He also advocated for an enlightenment campaign by the Ministry of Agriculture to better inform and educate farmers on crop production.
The event concluded with the symbolic presentation of fertilizers, chemicals, seedlings, and grinding machines, among other farm inputs, to beneficiaries by Acting Governor Comrade Yakubu Garba.
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