Food security: Gombe Gov Meets Tinubu Over State Agric Plans

.Outlines partnership deals with Moroccan businesses on agric development

.Flays slow pace of work on Kolmani gas project

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has expressed his administration’s commitment to massive investment in agriculture development to enhance food security in the state. 

Yahaya, made this known to journalists yesterday at the State House, Abuja, after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on issues around the economy in the country, especially with regards to investment into agriculture to shore up food security. 

He revealed that his recent trip to Morocco was aimed at exploring ways to deepen economic and diplomatic relationships with the Kingdom of Morocco, particularly in agriculture and livestock production.

Noting Morocco’s success in developing livestock and crop production, despite desertification and limited rainfall, Yahaya expressed optimism about implementing similar practices in Gombe State. 

The governor announced partnerships with Moroccan businesses to enhance productivity in livestock and crop production, targeting 1,000 hectares for cassava production this farming season.

With 75-80 per cent of Gombe’s population engaged in agriculture, the governor’s initiative aims to support peasant farmers, reinvigorate cooperative systems, and increase productivity to reduce food scarcity and prices. 

Yahaya expressed confidence in a good harvest, anticipating a doubling of last year’s production. 

According to him, “I came to see Mr. President as a follow up to the recent developments in the country, especially on the economy with regards to food security and also with regards to recent developments in the polity. 

“Our engagement has been very robust, we touched on all the issues and I am satisfied and convinced that Mr. President is ready and has been doing his best and will continue to do his best to deliver on the mandate and see that Nigeria is out of the current situation and has improved and go on to catch up with the rest of the developed world.

“My trip to Morocco was for us to see how we could deepen and widen the economic and diplomatic relationships the Kingdom of Morocco has with Nigeria, particularly with Gombe State, being an agrarian state with 75 to 80 per cent of our people engaged in either livestock or crop production. 

“Morocco being a successful country in Africa that has succeeded in developing both livestock and crop production, we decided to go so that we see how they are doing it, so that we can come and implement and see that our own state and indeed the whole of Nigeria improve in terms of productivity, with regards to agriculture and animal husbandry.

“Of particular note is the fact that Morocco is closer to the desert and therefore has issues to do with desertification and lack of rain for agriculture, but still wherever you turn in Morocco you see lush and green environment that is yielding positively, productivity wise, yielding more than enough for them to consume and even export to the rest of the world. 

“So we see a lot of good practices and we discussed with their business community, especially with regards to livestock production and Gombe has gotten partners that will come and jointly work with us in order to enhance productivity in our livestock centre and also in crop production.

“Well you see like I said, 75 per cent to 80 per cent of our people are peasant farmers and the economic downturn, especially with the withdrawal of petrol subsidy meaning that the poor people cannot afford to the extent that even food is a problem, talkless of agricultural inputs and we feel the best way to support the people is to take them back to the land so that they can produce what they will eat. 

“We decided to go that way because we want to reinvigorate the cooperative systems in Gombe because it helps alot in the last season and in order to ensure that every person, including those that are really peasant farmers … got direct support from the government so that productivity will increase and the scarcity of food will reduce and the prices of food will come down, especially with the onset of the rainy season. 

“I believe that our people are appreciative and by the grace of God the harvest will be good and I assure you that we will double what we produced last year because of recent interventions. We decided to engage in cassava production because cassava production is very easy for the people; it doesn’t need a lot of fertiliser and it needs less water and less supervision for it to germinate. 

“With two bags you generate upto 50 to 20 pieces down so and it doesn’t take alot of people to do that and from that cassava you can produce Garri, you can produce elubo, you can use it even casually to eat as a food. So our people are really back to it, we have now planted about 500 hectares and our target is to have not less than a 1000 hectares committed to cassava production in this farming season,” the governor said.

Speaking on the progress of the Kolmani Integrated Development Project located on the borders of his state and Bauchi, Yahaya expressed frustration. 

He revealed that it was part of the reasons he met with the President, saying “it is really very unfortunate development. As you said, close to two years now after the foundation laying for an integrated in situ development comprising 250 thousand capacity refinery and 350mega megawatts of power plant and 2,000 tons capacity fertiliser plant which was supposed to take off since then, but because I think there are some issues with the NNPC and also the partners that are engaged or developers, those issues really have strangled operation to take off. 

“And in fact, it is part of the discussion I had with Mr. President believing that once he steps in, maybe we will see activities back for the fact that petroleum and gas are under the exclusive list, neither much we can do.

“NNPC is the only company that is to handle anything gas or petroleum of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as such presidential intervention which I just came and sought for will really make the things turn back and activities will resume on the site as soon as possible,” the Gombe Governor said.