The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has distributed farm inputs to small scale farmers in Jigawa State for year-round farming in the state.

The inputs included power tiller, rice reaper, mini combine harvester, insecticides, herbicides, organic fertiliser and knapsack sprayers.

Speaking at the event in Dutse on Thursday, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said the items would be distributed free of charge to the beneficiaries, including farmers with special need and internally displaced persons (IDPs), through commodity associations and cooperative groups.

Mr Kyari, represented by the director of horticulture, Yarima Yakubu, said the gesture was aimed at supporting farmers in order to boost food security in the country.

He stated, “The ministry has considered the implementation of short term plans and support mechanism to make essential farm inputs more affordable and accessible to farmers through a transparent and accountable process.

“Our foremost concern is the facilitation of agro-inputs and basic farm machinery to small scale farmers, who are constrained by high market cost of these essential inputs, and thus need assistance

“In summary, it is the resolve of the present administration to attain the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially that of zero hunger, while also mitigating the food crisis in the country.”

The minister explained that to address the underlying challenges impacting the attainment of national food security goals, the federal government was implementing numerous economic reforms to stimulate productive capacity, create jobs and reduce costs of living.

He added that emergency responses and targeted humanitarian actions had also been taken to ameliorate the food crisis in the country.

According to him, in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the federal government declared a state of emergency on food security in 2023.

He assured that the present administration demonstrated total political will to transform the agriculture sector by making food security a top priority.

He said, “I hereby present the various inputs for distribution at no cost to farmers and urge the beneficiaries to make judicious use of them to produce more food for the nation.”

In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Muttaka Namadi, commended the federal government for the gesture.

Mr Namadi, represented by the Director Agric Services, Bashir Mustafa, recalled that the federal ministry of agriculture had supported several farmers in the state during the 2025 Greenfield Day.

Urging the beneficiaries to ensure judicious use of the inputs, he noted that agriculture remained one of the priorities in the 12-point agenda of the state government.

In their separate remarks, the Chairman of the All Farmers Association (AFAN), Maiunguwa Jaga, and the Coordinator, Small Scale Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWFON) in the state, Hadiza Abdulwahab, lauded the federal government for the gesture.

 (NAN)