•Sokoto Governor Ahmad Aliyu
Sokoto State governor, Ahmad Aliyu, has decried the spate of insecurity, stating that it was unbecoming for farmers to seek permission before accessing their farms.
Aliyu stated this yesterday in Abuja, when he paid a courtesy call on the Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari and Abdullahi Sabi, reports Daily Sun.
“There is no way farmers can go to the farm without security. Before the farmers will go to the farm now, they will have to align with security personnel to escort them to the farm. It is unbecoming,” he lamented.
The governor, also, stated that his administration had put in place mechanism to identify genuine farmers.
He said: “I want to also share with you that the Sokoto government will establish a committee under the Ministry of Agriculture to collaborate with the Ministry of Education and Digital Economy so that we can put in mechanism to identify genuine farmers in Sokoto State.
“Sometimes, with all these platforms and data all your support will not go directly to the main farmers.
“In the last two months before the distribution of fertilizer, I appointed a committee to go round all the 23 local government, for supervision and distribution, they caught more than 15 trucks diverted.”
Speaking on the reason for his visit, he said, “it is to seek your support and to see how best we can collaborate and work together and achieve the desired result of Mr President, to provide support for our farmers.”
The Minister, Abubakar Kyari, however assured the governor of the Federal Government’s willingness to support the State with farm inputs, especially during the dry season farming.
He said: “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is dedicated to implementing stringent measures in the forthcoming Dry/Wet Season Farming for Rice, Maize, and Cassava, to ensure transparent distribution of agro-inputs and targeting genuine farmers.
“Collaboration with states, local governments, traditional rulers, NGOs, and relevant MDAs will be crucial in achieving this goal.
“The Ministry is focused on ramping up massive production of staple crops using technology and mechanization to achieve this goal.
“We are grateful for the support and guidance of Mr. President as we work towards a more food-secure Nigeria.
“Furthermore, I would like to reiterate that the Ministry is fully aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We are poised to implement our programs in line with his vision for the agricultural sector. We are determined to driving agricultural transformation, enhancing productivity and ensuring that our farmers have the necessary support to thrive.
“This is without an iota of doubt demonstrated in his Eight-Point Agenda where Food Security is the number one item. In fact, all the other items have strong linkages to agricultural production.
“We at the FMAFS are taking the achievement of these goals very seriously and would like to reiterate that the Federal Government’s support for farmers is unwavering and will continue to grow.
“The president is concerned about the capacity of farmers to access agro-inputs even at the current subsidized rate as observed during the last intervention for Dry Season Wheat Production Programme. To ameliorate this, further support to farmers is underway.”
