By Awwal Umar Kontagora The Niger State Government has officially launched the distribution of one million banana seedlings to 250,000 house...
By Awwal Umar Kontagora
The Niger State Government has officially launched the distribution of one million banana seedlings to 250,000 households across the state.
The Acting Governor, Comrade Yakubu Garba, inaugurated the project at the Niger State Agricultural and Mechanization Development Authority (NAMDA) in Minna. This initiative is a collaborative effort between the state government, Niger Foods, and the One Hectare One Family program.
Comrade Garba announced that the distribution will occur over a four-year period, emphasizing that the project is a significant outcome of the Niger State Green Economy Summit. He noted that this initiative has the potential to economically empower households, enhance nutrition, and accelerate agro-industrial development—key components of the state government's agricultural agenda.
The Acting Governor highlighted the global emphasis on food and nutrition security, affirming that Niger State is committed to these priorities to ensure a healthy population. He further stated that the current administration has heavily invested in mechanization and will continue to prioritize agricultural development to boost food production, lower market prices, and attract investors.
Comrade Garba expressed his appreciation to the project partners for their support in ensuring nutrition security for the state's citizens. He urged the beneficiaries to make effective use of the seedlings to improve their families' nutrition and income.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Alhaji Musa Salihu Bawa, expressed optimism that the project would improve food and nutrition indices, reduce poverty and unemployment, and diversify the economy, thereby increasing the state's internally generated revenue.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Titi Auta, also praised the initiative, describing it as timely, and encouraged women to take advantage of it by cultivating home gardens.
The Managing Director of NAMDA, Alhaji Mohammed Aliyu Baba, revealed that Bosso, Chanchaga, and Paikoro local government areas were selected as pilot locations for the distribution, with women being the primary beneficiaries.
In their goodwill messages, the Chairman of the One Hectare One Family Project, Mr. Oluwafemi Kuko, and representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, ACReSAL, and Niger Foods, highlighted the nutritional and socio-economic benefits of bananas. They commended the initiative and pledged their continued support for its success.
The Acting Governor symbolically presented banana suckers to some beneficiaries and inspected the banana nursery at NAMDA.
It should be recalled that last year, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the state government and the One Hectare One Family program for the supply of banana seedlings to farming households in the state.
Beneficiaries from the pilot local governments are expected to provide their first fruit harvests, which will be used to test a processing plant to be established by an interested investor.
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