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Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Federal Government plans to distribute 10,000 tractors valued at N150 million each and other farm inputs to farmers under a soft loan scheme to be repaid in 11 years and designed to boost mechanised farming.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, stated this during a visit to the Emir of Dutse , Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, in his palace over the weekend.
“Each of the councils would be allocated tractors worth N150 million each. What we need is that the beneficiaries must be genuine farmers and indigenes of the participating local government councils.The gesture is to assist farmers to boost their production capacity so that the government could mop up excess produce for strategic reserves. The Federal Government will commence implementation of the programme in the second quarter of the year 2020,” Nanono said.
Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, represented by Alhaji Basiru Sanusi, lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the commitment to reinvigorate the agricultural sector. The Emir said that the council had set up a committee to mobilise participation in the agricultural transformation programme of the government.
“When we heard about the federal government’s plans to give soft loans to farmers in the 774 local government areas, we set up an awareness creation committee to mobilise participation in the programme,” he said.
