By Dahiru Samaila Mafara
Farmers at Bakolori Dam in Zamfara state have praised the federal government of Nigeria for supplying agricultural inputs to farmers for the 2023/2024 dry season.
wheat farming under its Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket (NAGS -AP) projects.
The program has accorded each farmer to benefit with Seven bags of NFK fertilizer, three bags of Urea, an insecticide and Seeds at 50 percent discount rate.
Each farmer will only paid 180,500 naira to received farm inputs worth 361,000 naira at a designated redemption center from a specified registered Agro dealer.
According to a farmer, Mr Zayyanu Yakubu, who spoke to our correspondent at the Talata Mafara redemption center in Zamfara state applauded the federal government initiative in providing the subsidy at a time when many farmers have abondoned farming because of their inability to purchase fertilizer and other farm inputs.
Mr Zayyanu also commended the Agro dealer, HEEKMAH INTEGRAL SERVICES of Talata Mafara redemption center for standing firmly to ensure supply of the farm inputs to the farmers at a time when other dealers have failed.
“It is also pertinent to request that the federal ministry of agriculture should conduct a performance evaluations for the Agro dealers that were engaged in supplying agricultural inputs under the Agricultural and Food Security programs, as some dealers do not have the capacity to meet the targeted demand of farmers”
” Those who have no capacity should be sack and replace with capable once such that overall success can be achieve ” he said
Another farmer, Zakari Tawaya from Bakura redemption center also expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for giving a desired attention to the agricultural sector which he referred as ‘ timely intervention’.
“We are calling on the Honorable Minister to consider extension of time to this program at least by a week to enable some farmers who yet to be redeem to get their support.
” There are reasonable number of farmers who received text messages and before reaching to the redeeming centers, the internet saver was said to have been closed” Zakayi has said.
dfknews reports that the Federal Government of Nigeria has flagged off the 2023/2024 dry season farming in Hadejia, Jigawa state, where the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed the target of 1,250,000 million tonnes of Wheat production for the 2023/2024 dry season farming.
According to the minister, the government has set a lofty goals in wheat alone, 150,000 to 250,000 farmers will receive a 50% input subsidy to cultivate 200,000 to 250,000 hectares with a projected yield of 1,250,000 tonnes of wheat.
The Federal Government of Nigeria intends to produce 875,000 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat for the country’s food reserves on over 70,000 hectares spread across the country’s wheat-producing zones.
Among the urgent interventions is the adoption of dry season wheat production beginning in November as part of the African Development Bank-funded National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) programs.
