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Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has promised to distribute 26,000 bags of fertiliser to farmers in the State, which is in addition to the 13,000 bags already distributed.
Governor Sule made the commitment yesterday when he visited the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in Abuja.
He said: “With the renewed hope agenda as well as request from the Minister of Agriculture we will double it.
“If for instance, we have been providing 13,000 bags of fertilizer to the farmers we will increase it to 26,000 bags of fertilizer. This is because of the high cost of living, farmers are having more challenges, government is in the position to provide support so we will continue to support the smallholder farmers to improve production and reduce pressure on the FX. To reduce the pressure of high prices, we are looking at our strategic grain reserves to see what can be done. Moreso there are a lot of people hoarding food items hoping there prices will shore up.”
On his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari said Nasarawa State should be ready to expand its support to farmers giving its investments in grains, legumes, and root crop cultivation.
Kyari said: “When the Federal Government offered the 50 per cent subsidies on agro-inputs during the take-off of the wheat production, there were reported cases across a number of states of farmers who were too indigent to pay their counterpart 50 per cent in order to access the agro-inputs.”
“A few states provided additional subsidies, while others assisted the farmers with land clearing and quality extension services. Yet others have invested in power tillers and solar-powered water pumps.
“It is interesting that, last year, NASENI laid the foundation for a solar cell production plant in Gora, Nasarawa State. It is our expectation that in due course the plant, when operational, will be the feeder for solar-powered pump needs in the immediate environment and beyond.”
