Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on Wednesday inaugurated a committee set up for the distribution of the seventy trucks of assorted fertilizer donated to Bauchi State farmers by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held at the Government House, Bauchi, the governor commended the federal government for the gesture which he said would go along way in supporting farmers at the grassroots to boost their farming activities thereby enhancing production in the state.
Governor Bala said on its part, the state government has since embarked on the sale of NPK fertilizer for 2024 farming season at subsidized rate of twenty thousand naira per bag with a directive to the relevant agencies to ensure that, the commodities are made available to farmers across the 20 LGAs of the State.
Represented by his deputy, Auwal Jatau, the governor also recalled that, has distributed among other things, 20 units of tractors, 94 Rice Milling machines, 47 Groundnut Decorticating machines, 47 Multipurpose trashes, 470 Knapsack Sprayers, six Animal Feed Crushers and 20 Tricycles to assist eligible farmers for 2024 farming season.
According to him, in addition, the State Government has also supported 10 Communities through a Community Revolving Fund (CRF), with each beneficiary getting a Cheque of US $25,000:00, making a total of Two Hundred and fifty thousand dollars (US $250,000:00) through the state’s ACReSAL Funds.
“All these efforts are geared at complementing the effort of the Federal Government towards food security in our dear state and the country in general. It may interest you to know that despite the enormous challenges and the limited resources of the State Government which makes it difficult to support and grow all the economic sub-sectors at the same time, the Government has accorded agriculture the priority it deserves.
“In an effort to consolidate our agricultural transformation initiative, my Government is planning to acquire heavy-duty agricultural equipment to raise the level of agricultural production and ensure food security in the State.”
He mentioned some of the committee’s terms of reference to include designing criteria for the selection of genuine farmers and farmers’ associations across the State, ensure fair distribution of the assorted fertilizer to the benefiting farmers and to submit report to the State Government within 3 weeks.
The governor who said that Bauchi state is blessed with abundant land, human, and natural resources, assured that his administration would properly harness and utilize them for the overall economic development of the state.
Responding, the chairman of the committee, Alh. Nuhu Ahmed Wabi, who is the Emir of Jama’are expressed gratitude to the state government for finding them worthy to serve in the committee and promised to ensure justice and equity in the distribution process.
