The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in collaboration with the Delta State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), on Monday, flagged off the distribution of fertilisers to flood-impacted farmers in the state in 2018.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the fertiliser distribution to farmers in Oshimili South and North Local Government areas of the state was flagged off on Monday in Asaba.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Chidi Ogundu, the Supervisor in charge of the intervention in the state, said that the project, which was designed and coordinated by NEMA, was targeted at achieving national food security, in line with the objective of the committee on food security.
According to him, NEMA designed and coordinated the emergency agricultural intervention in all the flood and conflict-impacted states in the country.
Ogundu said that a total of 3,678 farmers were affected by the 2018 flood, which ravaged farmlands in all the 16 local government areas of the state.
He recalled that NEMA had worked in collaboration with SEMA and the state ministry of agriculture to conduct the enumeration of the affected farmers and verification of the farmlands.
The meetings, according to him, were followed with the distribution of seedlings, sprayers and agrochemicals.
”As the supervisor of the project, I worked with the team that was given to me and the process was so smooth. The team joined me during the enumeration exercise, which started precisely on April 19.
“After the enumeration, the farm inputs such as yam seedlings, vegetable seeds, cassava stems, plantain suckers, agro-chemical and sprayers were distributed to the farmers,” he said.
Ogundu explained that the distribution of the items was first carried out before the distribution of agro-chemicals and sprayers to the farmers.
He listed the affected local government areas to include Oshimili South, Oshimili North, Aniocha South, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Isoko North and Isoko South.
Others are Patani, Udu, Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Bomadi, Burutu, Warri South, Warri South West and Warri North local government areas.
Responding on behalf of the farmers, Mr Joseph Nwama, President, Merchant Club Cooperative Society, commended the Federal Government for providing them with the farm inputs.
”When they started this journey with us some months back, it was like a joke; but to our greatest surprise, they have given us everything they promised us,’ ‘ he said. (NAN)
