The Federal Government has distributed inputs to 250 smallholder farmers in Sokoto state.
The exercise was done by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
The FMAFS’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Temitope Fashedemi, said at a one-day training and distribution ceremony on Friday, that the effort was to boost agricultural production in the state.
Fashedemi was represented by the State Coordinator of the ministry, Dr Umar Tukur.
He said the exercise was a conscious effort to reduce the spate of poverty at all levels in the country.
“The level of poverty in Nigeria needs conscious efforts. An estimated population of 88.4 million people in Nigeria are living in poverty,” he said.
He explained that the initiative was under the Federal Government’s National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS).
“ It is a significant milestone in our collective commitment to uplift the lives of our smallholder farmers and foster sustainable agricultural practices.
“The NPRGS in collaboration with the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension Service (FDAE), has diligently enumerated and validated approximately 250 farmers for participation in this transformative programme.
“These farmers are not just the backbone of our agricultural sector, they form the heartbeat of our nation’s prosperity, ” he said.
According to him, NPRGS reflects government’s dedication to addressing poverty at its roots, stressing the pivotal role agriculture plays in economic growth and development in the country.
He noted that through initiatives of training and empowerment programmes, the ministries were sowing the seeds of positive change.
” The target is to ensure that smallholder farmers have the knowledge, resources and support needed to thrive in an ever-evolving agricultural landscape.
“ The programme is an investment in agriculture which is an investment in the future of our nation, ” he stressed.
The permanent secretary added that beneficiaries were equipped with the tools to enhance productivity, improve resilience, and embrace sustainable agricultural practices.
The Commissioner for Agriculture in Sokoto State, Alhaji Bello Wamakko, lauded the Federal Government’s empowerment programmes in the state.
Wamakko said that the state had benefited severally from Federal Government’s interventions and appreciated the support that increased farmers investments in the state.
He called on beneficiaries to make good use of the knowledge acquired at the training, and cautioned them against selling the inputs.
The chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Sokoto State, Alhaji Abdullahi Bankano, said the gesture would surely enhance farmers performance and solicited for more.
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Bankano said the country needed more initiatives to tackle food shortage and fight poverty in the communities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the farmers were trained on crop enterprises, fisheries and poultry.
The farm inputs distributed included sprayers, herbicides, fish feeds, day-old broilers and improved seeds of maize, rice, pepper and tomatoes. (NAN)
