Gombe State Has Potential To Feed Nigeria- Yahaya
Govt. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, on Thursday, said that the state has the agricultural potential to produce enough food to feed the nation.
Yahaya stated this during the inauguration of a private fertiliser blending plant at Kwadom community in Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area of the state.
He said the state has abundant arable landscape and human resource that could be harnessed to support the food security efforts of the Federal Government.
The governor reitrated commitment to support the agricultural sector and provide the right environment to woo investors to the state.
“With a land mass of about 20,000square kilometers arable land and a population of nearly 3.5 million people, Gombe State only can feed Nigeria. So there is a double task ahead of us.
“We have resourceful people, and there is no reason why we should not harness God’s given resources to change and uplift the lives of our people.
“We are agrarian in nature and whatever we do to enhance agricultural development is key to ensuring food security in the country.
“Our commitment to agriculture is 100 per cent because our people are 100 per cent into farming.
“Even the traditional leaders and the governor, permanent secretaries, nobody that does not have somewhere to till in form of a farm or a small land for keeping livestock,” he said.
Yahaya said that his administration was creating the right environment to attract investments, adding that, “this is the reason the state was ranked best in ease of doing business”.
According to him, the aim of supporting the agricultural sector is to ensure that everyone is productive so that they can realise their potentials and live a good life.
He said with the capacity of the fertiliser blending plant and the other ones in the state, Gombe could export fertilisers to Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republics.
The governor commended the management of Alyuma Fertiliser and Chemical Limited for establishing the plant in the state, and pledged continued support to investors willing to invest in the state.
Also speaking, Mr Faruk Hamza, the Managing Director of the company, lauded the Gombe government for creating the right atmosphere for investors to establish their industries in the state.
Hamza said the fertiliser plant has a 120,000 metric tonnes production capacity per annum.
According to him, the company will be producing NPK and Urea brand of fertilisers as well as soil and crop specific fertilisers to improve yields per hectare.
He said the company had engaged 250 youths from the community as part of employment generation drive in the state.
NAN/Oyenike Oyeniyi
