NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia
To ensure food security and create employment opportunities for her population, the government of Nasarawa State is taking a profound interest in farming and offering assistance to the farmers. This attention to the sector is “is geared towards improving the livelihood of the teeming populace to ensure optimum employment, as well as achieving sustainable food security in the State and beyond.”
Governor Abdullahi Sule stated this on Tuesday while kickstarting the sale of subsidized fertilizer and other inputs to farmers in the State. The exercise which was held at the headquarters of Nasarawa State Agricultural Development project, NADP, is billed to be replicated across the 13 local government areas. A bag of fertilizer will be sold for N12,000 as against the market value of nearly N21,000.
The Governor said the yearly distribution of farm inputs expresses the government’s desire “to improve agricultural production for the all-round farming season in the State,” hence the procurement and distribution of fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers at far below market price. This is, the governor noted, “to enhance the effort of our teeming farmers to improve agricultural productivity and value chain addition in the State.”
He said the opportunity availed the State through fertile land and friendly weather which are “suitable for the production of arable crops for both domestic consumption and export” are utilized to the fullest. He added that the endowment, coupled with the government’s effort has “attracted investors such as Olam Nigeria Limited, Dangote Group, Azman Rice, Flour Mill, amongst other investors to the State.”
Governor Sule also listed ways through which his administration has improved agricultural practice through collaboration with relevant organisations to mechanize the sector. “We have facilitated the establishment of the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute (AMEDI) by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) in the State. This is with the intent of showcasing new farming methods using modern techniques in agricultural processing, innovation and technologies. It is intended to serve as a means of providing extension services for Nigerian farmers and agro-allied industries in the country.”
While charging those entrusted with the distribution assignment to be diligent and honest in their assignment and avoid diversion of the items, the governor implored them to make sure that the produce arrives at the doorsteps of those who need it most
In his address, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Umar Dan’Kano, said the investment in agriculture is a testament to Governor Sule’s belief in the transformative power of agriculture as a tool of employment generation and wealth creation. He said fertilizer distribution for dry season farming will impact positively the food security and sufficiency in the State.
In his goodwill message, the Chairman of Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Peter Akwe, thanked the governor for the strides he has made in the agricultural sector. He said the allocation to the sector in the 2024 budget meets the requirement of national budgets to agriculture as stipulated in the Maputo Declaration of 2003 on the baseline for budgetary allocation to the sector.