Gov Bago Flags Off Distribution Of Fertilisers, Others In Niger
Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State on Monday flagged off the 2023 wet season sales and distribution of fertilizers as well as other agricultural inputs to farmers in the state at a subsidised rate.
While calling on the relevant MDAs responsible for the distribution to ensure equitable distribution, Bago said each of the beneficiaries was entitled to 10 bags of fertilizers.
He warned that security operatives had been directed to deal decisively with anyone found wanting, adding that 60,000 bags of the fertilizers had been provided for a start with 120,000 more bags to come.
The governor also promised the procurement of 300 tractors out of which 10 are to be distributed to each of the 25 local government areas of the state.
He announced that Bago Foundation, headed by his wife, Fatima Umaru Bago, had 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.
“This is our way as a government to encourage farming and agriculture in the state. We must gravitate from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture,” he said.
“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.
“Bank details and BVN of individuals will be taken into consideration and we have invited the EFCC, ICPC, and also the police to make sure that this is done rightly. We are bringing subsidy in agriculture and it must be sustained.”
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Idris Gbogan, explained that the state government had approved a 20 percent subsidy on 100 trucks (600 tonnes) of fertilizer and that each bag of 50kg of fertilizer would be sold at N18,000 as against the open market price of N24,000-N30,000.
He said the sale would be done in the designated stores across the state, adding that internal control mechanisms were in place to ensure that only resource-constrained farmers benefitted.
Gbogan also noted that the Ministry, Local Government Directors of Agriculture, Niger State Agricultural Mechanization Development Agency (NAMDA) Zonal officers, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Security operatives and Sarkin Nomas, among others, were the monitoring teams for all the zones of the state.
The Permanent Secretary appreciated Bago for his doggedness in ensuring that the agricultural potentials in the state were properly harnessed, disclosing that the ministry had commenced the process of providing one hectare of land to each of the civil servants to cultivate as he had directed.
He also appealed to the governor to resuscitate and support the Buffer Stock Programme of the ministry to enable it to mop up grains and stock in the state-owned designated warehouses during harvest for later sales at a cheaper price than the open market.
Also speaking at the event, AFAN Chairman Shehu Galadima applauded the governor for his deliberate efforts towards ensuring the development and sustenance of agriculture in the state and pledged the association’s continued support for government policies and programmes.
