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Govt to double
food production
From BABATUNDE BISHOP, Damaturu____________________________________________________
The
Yobe State government is set to address crisis of food shortage just
as all efforts are being made to boost food production in the state.
As a result of the recent food shortage across the globe the state
commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Alkali Jajere who disclosed
this in an interview revealed that, “government has so far
distributed 59,960 bags of improved seeds of millet and maize to
farmers in the state in order to complement the 3,916 tonnes of
fertilizers early distributed to small scale farmers”.
He said that government has also procured additional 3,000 tonnes of
the commodity apart from the 2,100 tonnes allocated to the state by
the federal government, while 5,200 tonnes were the left over from
last year’s stock.
Jajere said more than 10,000 tones of fertilizer have so far been
distributed to farmers this year and sold at subsidized rate of N1,
800 for NPK, N1,700 for Urea and N1,500 for SSP at each of the 178
wards in the state.
“The rate is to make fertilizers available and affordable to
farmers in the state, these procurements and distributions of the
seeds to farmers was part of the implementation policies on
addressing the food crisis and the national food security programme”
he explained.
He said that, because of the shortened duration of rainfall from
three to two months in the North, the improved seeds of maize and
millet are early-maturing ones that can be planted and harvested by
the farmers within 40 days as against 60 or two months.
Other policy implementation on addressing the food crisis, he said,
are the expansion of ‘back-to-farm programme’ to the entire 17 local
government areas of the state, stressing that the scheme is expected
to accommodate about 10, 000 unemployed youths in the state.
Under this scheme, Jajere said “government would provide land for
beneficiaries to enable them cultivate through a land holding
arrangement. The project will also provide the targeted youth with
seedlings, fertilizers, chemicals and free extension services with
certain amount of money to enable them hire extra hands for
planting”.
According to him, appropriate measures have been taken by government
to check diversion and ensure that the commodity gets to “real and
practicing” farmers.
“We have strongly warned those involved in the sale that the full
weight of the law will visit them if they divert allocations made to
the people,” he warned
The commissioner said that government had procured raw materials for
the Gujba fertilizer blending year’s plant, adding that production
would commence at the plant soon, with a capacity to produce 40,000
tones of fertilizers.
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