Agric Productivity Improving As We Tackle Insecurity – Minister
By Abdullahi Yusuf
The Federal Government says agricultural productivity is improving as a result of the successes being recorded in the fight against banditry,kidnapping and other forms of insecurity in the northern parts of the country.
Such areas include Kaduna and Niger States where farmers whom hitherto could not access their farms due to insecurity have now resumed their farming activities and harvesting crops bountifully.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security,Sen.Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, stated this while interacting with Journalists in Kano.
Sabi said the feat was achieved following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu who gave all the Service Chiefs directives to combat insecurity and ensure safety of lives and property in the sub-region.
The Minister who was in Kano for the 49th National Conference of Soil Science Society of Nigeria(SSSN) holding at the Bayero University,Kano(BUK), said security had significantly improved in the sub-region following the President’s intervention.
He expressed the determination of the Federal Government to transform agriculture and improve food security in the country.
Sabi said the government’s commitment is evident in the number of measures being deployed to support farmers across the country including provision of extension services in order to improve their yields.
He said the government is also supporting irrigation farmers with Solar-powered water pumping machines to mitigate their cost of production towards bountiful harvests.
He also announced that the government had secured large tracts of farming lands across the 774 Local Government Areas in the country, aimed at encouraging farmers to return to their activities and boost national food security.
“The government is also introducing a more integrated agriculture mechanization strategy, including the distribution of combined harvesters, to enhance productivity and results in the sector,” the minister said.
He said already, 600 tractors had so far been procured, which will be distributed directly to genuine farmers to boost food production across the country.