FG Seeks Transparent Distribution of Agro-inputs to Genuine Farmers

*Insecurity remains major threat to food security, says Sokoto, Bago promises to make Niger top agrarian state

James Emejo in Abuja

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has said the ministry would implement stringent measures to ensure transparent distribution of agro-inputs as well as target genuine farmers in the forthcoming dry/wet season farming for rice, maize, and cassava.

The minister said the President was concerned about the capacity of farmers to access agro-inputs even at the current subsidised rate as observed during the last intervention for dry season wheat programme.

Speaking at separate meetings with the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, and his Sokoto State counterpart, Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto, over the weekend in Abuja, he said further support was underway for farmers to ameliorate their plight of access.

He said collaboration with states, local governments, traditional rulers, NGOs, and relevant MDAs will be crucial in achieving this objective.

The minister said the federal government remained committed to ramping up massive production of staple crops using technology and mechanisation to boost food security in the country.

Kyari pointed out that the Expression of Interest for the dry season production of the three staples which he sent to all the 36 states and FCT, had elicited a great deal of enthusiasm.

According to him, the letter captured a design structure that speaks to farmers’ data integrity, inventory of available irrigable lands as well as functional irrigation infrastructure with the primary aim of determining the readiness of participating states.

He said the governors’ visit was an “attestation to the strong alliance and synergy we are motivated to build between the federal and state governments in our shared efforts to ensure food security and agricultural growth in Nigeria.”

He said the endowments of Niger with the largest landmass in the country, abundant water resources and vast arable land, were not in doubt, as it easily offers itself for massive agricultural production.

He said, “We recognise that fundamental governance issues as elsewhere is to translate these agricultural potentials into sustainable reality, against the backdrop of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda with great expectation for food security and related matters.
“We believe that a firm handshake between the two tiers of government at the minimum should produce salutary results in our collective quest for food security and attendant value chain benefits.”

Kyari further affirmed that the agricultural sector in Niger had witnessed outstanding accomplishments since the inception of Bago’s administration.
He said, “I am confident that through our continued collaboration and dedication, we will overcome current challenges we face and achieve our collective goals for a more prosperous agricultural sector in Nigeria.”

Similarly, the minister said Sokoto’s visit was a substantiation of the strong partnership and collaboration that the federal government was striving to build between the states and the federal government in its collective efforts to ensure food security and agricultural development in the country.

He said the agricultural sector in Sokoto State had experienced remarkable achievements since the inception of the current administration.

He said, “Your efforts towards the provision of agricultural input support to farmers in the state are well noted. Distribution of assorted fertilizer to farmers for free in all the 23 local governments across the state, provision of free assorted seeds and agro-chemicals to farmers for the 2023/2024 dry season farming, and the recently constructed 450 hectares Kware Irrigation Scheme, with payment of compensation to the affected farmers – attests to progressive governance and then makes it a statement of fact that Sokoto has a frontline position in the renewed hope for food Security agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

Sokoto, however, pointed out that insecurity remained a major concern affecting farming activities in the state.

He said many farmers have abandoned their farmlands for fear of insecurity, leading to a shortage in food production.

Addressing journalists, he said, “Our major concern in Sokoto State as far as food production is concerned is banditry affecting some parts of the state, without security farmers cannot go to the farm. Some farmers have had to abandon their farms.”

He sought the support of the federal government to boost food production, emphasizing the need to strategise on how to identify genuine farmers in the state.

He decried the activities of ‘political farmers, which according to him sabotaged the efforts made by the government to boost food production through interventions.

He said, “So another reason why I’m here is to seek your support and to see how we can collaborate so that we can work together and achieve one of the desired results for Mr. President to provide support to all our farmers.

“Identification of genuine farmers is very important to address the situation whereby you spend billions of naira just to subsidies Agriculture and somebody uses the opportunity to enrich himself.”

On his part, Bago said the state remained headquarters of rice paddy in the country though rice production had not been optimised in the state.

He said, “The technology and mechanisation that we have brought in will ensure that we prepare the one million hectares of land for 2024 and we have already offered 250 hectares of land to the federal Ministry of Agriculture for the federal government initiative on dry season farming.

Be sure that Niger will top the list of performing agrarian states.”