From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
The Federal Government of Nigeria through Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has commenced distribution of farm inputs to 80,000 Jigawa farmers for 2024/2025 dry season.
This was announced by the state coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Alhaji Sale Salisu when his team paid a field visit to some distribution centres in the state.
He explained that, the program is part of the federal government’s agenda for food security and reducing unemployment through National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket Inputs Packages for NAGS 2024/2025.
According to him, the ministry allocated 80,000 packages of farms imputs to Jigawa state’s farmers for 2024/2025 dry season for wheat farming.
He said, out of the total 80,000 packages allocated to Jigawa 60,000 were registered, while the distribution exercises already commenced in 64 centres across the 27 local government areas in the state.
“As of today, more than 60,000 farmers in Jigawa, have recieved 2024/2025 imputs, including three bags of NPK, two bags of Urea fertilizers and one bag of certified wheat seeds, at subsidized rate of only N159,189.50 after receiving SMS alerts through their mobile phones and screened at the distribution centres”, he said.
The coordinator who lamented that the distribution exercise hindered with little challenges said, the ministry noted the challenges from their part, and promised to rectify it during the next season distribution exercise.
He identified the challenges as late distribution of the Imputs to the farmers, ICT and transportation challenges, as well as the low cooperation from the farmers.
While expressing their views on the exercises, majority of the beneficiaries decried delay in the distribution as according to most of farmers, the time of wheat planting is almost over as it’s now end of December.
Malam Umaru Baban Kamshi of Sabon Gari Takaneru area of Miga local government, is one of the beneficiaries. He said “I have been coming to this centre after receiving SMS alerts for three days but still the place is congested, while the time for planting has gone”.