The Kebbi State Government said it will distribute free agricultural assets and inputs, worth N7 billion, to farmers in the state.

The state governor, Nasir Idris, said this on Tuesday during the distribution of fertiliser and farm inputs to farmers at the Kebbi State Agricultural and Rural Development Agency’s office in Kalgo Local Government Headquarters.

Mr Idris said that the measure was to maximise production and help the state to attain food security and sufficiency.

He said that 48,000 farmers in the 21 Local Government Areas of the state would benefit from the gesture intended “to strengthen food cultivation toward achieving food security in the state.”

According to him, no farmer will be left behind.

He said that agriculture had a comparable advantage in the state and that the government had placed it as a major economic decider.

“The Cares Programme, under which the items are distributed today, will also procure 100 truckloads of fertiliser for distribution to farmers. Kebbi Government will similarly distribute 100 truckloads, while local government councils combined will distribute 110 truckloads of the commodity free to farmers.

“We made a similar distribution last year, which facilitated bumper harvest in the state. Therefore, farmers must continue to use the items judiciously. Nobody should be seen in the market selling government-provided fertilisers. Our security agencies have been mandated to keep surveillance and arrest and prosecute all violators of the order,” the governor said.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Abba Sani-Kalgo, said that the COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus, through which the farm inputs were distributed, had been renamed as Nigeria Community Action Resilience Economic Stimulus Programme.

He further said that the programme’s lifespan would be extended to 31 December in order to address the plight of the people.

“Under the Livelihood Intervention Scheme, 47,000 people will receive N100,000 each for  entrepreneurship and self-sustenance,” Mr Sani-Kalgo said.

The items distributed included Urea fertiliser, improved seedlings, pesticides and herbicides.

(NAN)