FG Moves to Enhance Genuine Farmers’ Access to Agro-input Interventions
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator, Abubakar Kyari, has said the availability of credible farmers’ data and accurately geo-referenced farmlands are germane and key to the federal government’s support for farmers across the country.
The minister said this was to ensure that agro-inputs get to real farmers who have the requisite hectarage to cultivate.
By implication, only genuine farmers, especially the smallholders are expected to get input support from the government going forward, he said.
He said gone are the days when genuine farmers would be at the mercy of portfolio farmers who hijack agro-inputs and later roundtrip to the economic detriment of genuine farmers.
Kyari spoke over the weekend at separate meetings with the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Abiodun Oyebanji, and his Kebbi State counterpart, Mohammed Nasir Idris, both of who paid him a courtesy visit in his office, as part of efforts to achieve the food security agenda of the present administration.
He said, “There is no doubt that the collective steps we are taking to boost food production, reduce food inflation, and more assuredly guarantee our national food security, are matters of urgent engagement that require increased inter-governmental interactions.
“In November of 2023, we flagged off the Wheat Dry Season Farming across 15 states that are in the wheat-producing belt of the country.
“As a reminder, the flag-off was intended to ensure that we rely less on rain-fed agricultural production during the wet season, and instead have all-year round farming.”
The minister said in addition to boosting the volumes of crops cultivated, taking advantage of both dry and wet season farming will increase job opportunities, reduce poverty, de-escalate food inflation.
He said these would further enhance inclusivity, which are goals highlighted in President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Specially, the minister said the agricultural landscape of Ekiti had experienced notable and some unprecedented achievements since Oyebanji’s administration came into office especially in the area of land preparation to open up more cultivable land for the farming populace.
He said the Ekiti State Youth in Agriculture Programme was already creating jobs and wealth for the teaming youths in the state, including various interventions in provision of inputs for the farmers in the production of crops and other agricultural value chains alike.
He said the federal government was further ready to collaborate and partner with the state in recognition of these efforts and consequent upon your “efforts evident in the mobilisation of farmers and other resource available at the state level towards the Renewed Hope for Food Security Agenda of the federal government.”
Responding, Oyebanji said commended the minister for openly admitting the incident of round-tripping and taking steps to address it in order to enhance access of genuine farmers to agroinput palliatives by the federal government.
Among other things, he called for the federal government’s assistance in providing tractors to aid the state’s mechanisation drive. Similarly, the minister said Kebbi remained one of the states chosen for the dry season farming across irrigable farmlands.
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