Sokoto (Nigeria): No fewer than 49 agricultural cooperative groups have benefited from free inputs distributed by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Sokoto State.
The items included motorised and solar-powered water pumps, sprayers, pesticides, fungicides, power tillers, multipurpose trashers, dehydrators, motorised weeders, and others.
Addressing the beneficiaries on Friday in Sokoto, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, said the Federal Government launched the initiative to increase food production.
Kyari stated that the efforts were also aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s food security, particularly among smallholder farmers, noting that the selected farmers’ groups would benefit from free items nationwide.
Represented by a Director from the ministry, Mr Abdulmajid Sule, the minister stated that all beneficiaries would receive the farming inputs completely free of charge.
He emphasised that President Bola Tinubu considered food security an emergency and aligned the agriculture sector with the Renewed Hope Initiatives to alleviate food crises in the country.
According to him, the present administration was implementing numerous economic reforms to stimulate productive capacity, create jobs, and reduce the cost of living among the citizens.
He reiterated that the Federal Government was prioritising agricultural programmes and overhauling them by promoting profitable synergies with non-governmental organisations, federal institutions, and state governments to achieve the objective.
He explained that the beneficiaries included commodity groups, cooperatives, persons with disabilities, women and youth associations, and other agricultural stakeholders across the state.
Kyari warned the beneficiaries not to sell the inputs but to use them responsibly, emphasising that agro-inputs and basic machinery were intended for small-scale farmers who were constrained by the high market prices of these products.
” The present administration developed the agricultural sector toward improved agriculture and rural productivity as well as attaining the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and zero hunger,” Kyari said.
The Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture Office in Sokoto, Hajiya Hadiza Abdullahi, stated that all the cooperative groups were registered and drawn from the 23 local government areas of the state.
Abdullahi said the gesture would boost food production and enhance the state’s contribution to national and regional agricultural output.
“It is part of a national push to support smallholder farmers with critical tools and resources,” he said.
Speaking also, the Programme Manager of the Sokoto State Agricultural Development Project (SADP), Alhaji Abubakar Danmaliki, stated that the state government had opened additional irrigation sites and procured 250 tractors to support agricultural production in the state.
Danmaliki said the support from inputs had augmented the state government’s efforts, adding that more extension workers were recruited to support farmers in all parts of the state.
Speaking on behalf of the benefiting groups, Alhaji Aliyu Maitasamu and Kabiru Dange, Chairmen of the Onion Producers and Cotton Farmers’ Unions, respectively, commended the Federal Government and assured that members would utilise the items to improve their yields.