The Niger government, on Saturday, distributed farm inputs worth N900 million to 640 farmers across the 25 local government areas of the state.

While inaugurating the distribution exercise in Minna, Gov. Umaru Bago explained that the intervention was under the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Result Area 2.

Mr Bago explained that NG-CARES was an initiative of the World Bank and the federal government to support the recovery of communities, households, and businesses affected by COVID-19.

The governor said that the 640 farmers would benefit from the input support under rice, maize, and sorghum value chains across the state.

He also said that aquaculture and broiler farmers in four local government areas would benefit equally from the exercise.

He explained that the farmers would get 78 metric tonnes of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) and Urea fertilisers, and 4.75 metric tonnes of rice, maize, and sorghum seeds.

He added that other inputs include 1,040 litres of herbicides, 520 litres of insecticide, 4,000-day old chicken, 8,000 fingerlings and 15 metric tonnes of feed.

He said that each beneficiary would be given two bags of 50 kilogramme (kg) of NPK and one bag of Urea fertiliser.

Other inputs, he said, would include two litres of herbicide, a litre of pesticide and 10kg of rice and maize seeds and 5kg of sorghum seeds.

Mr Bago added that the government would also distribute low-hanging fruit seedlings, drought-resistant crop varieties and oil palm plantation seedlings.

“The agricultural livelihood and food security support under the NG-CARES is to mitigate impacts on agricultural livelihoods, enhance the resilience of our farmers to return to their farms.

“The target is to increase food security and sustain safe functioning of food supply chains in post-COVID recovery,” he said.

He promised to pay the outstanding balance of N400 million counterpart fund of the Agro-Climatic Resilience Semi-Arid Landscape (AGReSAL) project.

Earlier, Yakubu Bello, permanent secretary, ministry of agriculture and rural development, said that the FADAMA NG-CARES project was aimed at protecting the livelihoods and food security of the vulnerable.

In his remarks, Abdulhamid Umar, national coordinator of AGReSAL, disclosed that the project was a 700 million dollars investment across 19 northern states, including Abuja.

Mr Umar said that the project seeks to address challenges of climate change that have more devastating effects in the Northern part of the country arising from desertification and droughts.

(NAN)