Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe on Thursday said the state has the agricultural potential to produce enough food to feed the nation.

Mr Yahaya stated this during the inauguration of a private fertiliser blending plant in the Kwadom community, Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area of the state.

He said the state has abundant arable landscape and human resources that could be harnessed to support the food security efforts of the federal government.

The governor reiterated his commitment to support the agricultural sector and provide the right environment to woo investors.

“With a land mass of about 20,000 square kilometres of arable land and a population of nearly 3.5 million people, Gombe State only can feed Nigeria. So there is a double task ahead of us,” said Mr Yahaya.

The governor maintained that the state has “resourceful” people who can harness natural resources to change others’ lives.

“Our commitment to agriculture is 100 per cent because our people are 100 per cent into farming,” said Mr Yahaya. 

He added, “Even the traditional leaders and the governor, permanent secretaries, nobody that does not have somewhere to farm in the form of a farm or a small land for keeping livestock.”

Mr Yahaya said his administration was creating the right environment to attract investments, adding, “This is the reason the state was ranked best in ease of doing business.”

According to him, the aim of supporting the agricultural sector is to ensure that everyone is productive to realise their potential and live a good life.

He said with the capacity of the fertiliser blending plant and the other ones in the state, Gombe could export fertilisers to Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republics.

The governor commended the management of Alyuma Fertiliser and Chemical Limited for establishing the plant in the state and pledged continued support to investors willing to invest in the state.

(NAN)