The Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has flagged off the sales and distribution of fertilizers for the 2023 wet season farming.
Speaking during the official flagging off ceremony at the Lawanti Farm Service Centre in Akko Local Government Area of the state, Governor Yahaya announced that the price of the fertilizers would be sold at the same rate as last year, which wz 19, 000 naira per bag, against the market price of about 26 thousand naira.
The governor said the aim was to lessen the financial burden on the farmers.
According to him, the timely distribution of the subsidised fertilizers for the 2023 cropping season would boost agriculture and ensure food security in the state and beyond, while creating wealth and providing employment opportunities for the teeming populace.
The Gombe State Governor said the cost of fertilizer was 2 billion, 837 million, 500 thousand naira for the 160 trucks of NPK purchased, which was 35 trucks higher than the quantity distributed last year.
He said his government had designed an effective framework for the sales and distribution of fertilizers across all the 114 political wards of the state, to ensure that it reached the target beneficiaries at the grassroots.
“Our aim is to empower our farmers with the essential resources to enhance crop yields, improve soil fertility, increase profitability, and achieve sustainable agricultural practices,” said Governor Yahaya.
Training of farmers
He enumerated various projects and programmes executed by his administration to revamp the agricultural sector in the state to Include the provision of fertilizer and agro-chemicals to farmers free of charge, through the securing NG-cares.
He also mentioned training of farmers on maize and yam value chain, with beneficiaries being provided with relevant inputs as starter packs.
Governor Yahaya said the state was also engaging agricultural extension officers on creating awareness on modern farming techniques, soil management and sustainable agriculture.
This he said would enable farmers to get the necessary tools and information to make informed decisions and embrace practices that would benefit both their farms and the environment.
The Gombe State Governor said the recent approval for the payment of 30 Million Naira to the Sassakawa Association as counterpart funds demonstrated the government’s commitment to fulfilling funding obligations to the development partners.
He also said his administration was committed to completing the Agricultural Training School in Tumu, to equip the youths with techniques, knowledge and skills of modern agriculture.
Farmer-herder clashes
On farmer-herder conflicts, which have continued to threaten the livelihoods and security of farming and herding communities, the Gombe State Governor said such conflicts were setting communities against each other, while tearing decades-old societal fabrics.
He said government was committed to mitigating the conflicts through the establishment of conflict prevention and dispute resolution committees in the communities, which had so far recorded remarkable successes in bringing harmonious and peaceful co-existence between herders and farmers.
Meanwhile, the Director Planning, Research and Statistics at the State Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Dr. Ibrahim Yakubu Usman, the timely procurement, sales and distribution of the fertilizer a confirmation of the Governor Yahaya-led Administration’s unrelenting efforts and strong determination to develop the agricultural sector.
He commended Governor Yahaya’s intervention in the conduct of the Annual Vaccination against Trans-Boundary Animal Diseases, which had reduced the prevalence of diseases such as
Contagious Bovine Pleuro Pneumonia, CBPP, Peste des Petits
Ruminants, PPR, Foot and Mouth Disease, FMD and the African
Swine Fever, ASF.
Provision of land
Dr. Usman also commended the governor’s adoption of the Livestock Transformation Agenda through the provision of Livestock infrastructures and of the recent on-going construction of the Federal Veterinary Complex along Liji-Kalshingi Road, Akko LGA through the gracious provision of the land.
He, however, sought the governor’s intervention in the employment of Veterinary Doctors, Agric Officers, Extension Officers and supporting staff in the Ministry and Agricultural Development Programme.
Dr. Usman said the request became necessary because the staff strength was reducing due to deaths and retirement.
Lateefah Ibrahim
