Over 142,623 farmers from Niger State were to benefit from the Agro Pocket Initiative of the federal government.
The Niger State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Musa Salihu Bawa, disclosed this during the post-Executive Council press briefing at the Government House, Minna.
He said the initiative, under the National Agricultural Growth Plan, has Niger State as a pilot state, and it was meant to increase food productivity, improve farming inputs, and deliver them, among other things.
He explained that the data sent to the federal ministry of agriculture and food security shows 96,000 rice farmers, 23,200 maize farmers, and 23,423 cassava farmers for dry-season farming.
Salihu Bawa highlighted some measures being evolved by the government towards making the state the food hub of the nation, including the recent delivery of 300 tractors and 200 power tillers, adding that more tractors and power tillers, including planters and harvesters, among other inputs, would be delivered.
The commissioner said the tractors, power tillers, and other farm inputs that are being supplied by John Dee are in line with the Memorandum of Understanding earlier signed with the state government.
He said the tractors would be paid with farm produce such as sesame, maize, rice, and soy beans instead of cash, as the state government will off-take from the farmers, adding that the profit would then be shared in a 60/40 ratio between the state government and the farmers, respectively.
The commissioner also noted that land preparations were ongoing in many local government areas for the cultivation of 250, 000 hectares of land across the state.
Salihu Bawa stressed that the policy would not in any way take away the farmlands of the locals, as wrongly insinuated in some quarters, but would rather pave the way for prosperity for the farmers and the state.
He also disclosed that the government, through the Ministry, will also assist farmers in terms of supervision and training through Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to boost their yields and guarantee food sufficiency and security.
He said a committee on the recovery of grazing reserves was recently inaugurated by the governor and aimed at utilising lands for mechanised agricultural activities.
The commissioner said the policy was already getting support from the farmers as the state government was synergizing with all critical stakeholders, including traditional rulers, to sensitise people.
On her part, the commissioner for information and strategy, Hajiya Binta Mamman, who coordinated the press briefing, solicited the support and synergy of the media in reaching out to the people about the good policies of the farmer governor.
She said the state government will continue to work in harmony with the media to achieve the desired objectives.