Sokoto state government has procured 24,270 metric tones of fertilizer worth N3.4 billion as well as N4 billion credit facility for wet season farmers.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal disclosed this during flag-off of fertilizer sales and distribution for the 2020 season, at Kasarawa stores on Wednesday.
According to him, the N3.4 billion fertilizers would be sold at subsidised rates of N4,000 per bag of NPK and Urea, which was procured the Federal government at the rate of N9,500, would be sold to farmers at N5,000.
Tambuwal explained that the credit facility of N4 billion is meant “to support small holder farmers, who occupy over 85% of the farming population in the state to produce rice, wheat, tomato and other food and cash crops.”
This, the governor explained, is part of “plans and strategies boost agriculture and mitigate the cumulative effects of the Coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the world especially on the agricultural sphere.
“The credit facility will also cover other segments of the agricultural value chain, especially those engaged in the area of processing, storage and marketing,” he said.
Towards diversifying local economy, Tambuwal said the state government will collaborate with a Turkish firm to promote “the massive cultivation of Sesame seeds in the current wet season,” adding that “there is a definite market and better price” for all those who partake in the venture.
He reiterated that his administration “will continue to deliver it’s promises in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors of our economy with a view to ensure not only self-sufficiency in food production and other agro-industrial materials, but to create wealth and generate employment for women and youths through agricultural transformation.”
Additionally, Tambuwal said that as a result of the state’s geographical location, government was spearheading the “responsibility of linking with all relevant institutes to update our farmers on latest farming technologies, purchasing more improved seeds which are adaptable to our environment with a view to mitigating the negative impact of climate change on agriculture.”
The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Muhammad Arzika, applauded the efforts of the governor, pointing out that apart from the subsidized sale of fertilizer and the provision of agricultural inputs, “the state government has also undertaken the rehabilitation of dams as well as employing experts to enhance modern agriculture.”
