Imam Iman
16 November 2008
Gusau — Federal Government has earmarked over N244bn as special intervention fund to boost the agricultural sector in the country, Minister of Agriculture and Water resources, Dr. Sayyadi Abba Ruma has said.
Speaking in Gusau, Ruma said the intervention was part of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's plan to achieve the 7 points agenda .
He said the Federal Government has demonstrated its commitment to enhancing agriculture by supporting the 36 state governments with 25% subsidy in agricultural input to enable farmers have access to farm inputs at affordable rates.
"It is the desire of the central government and the ministry to tackle the escalating global food crisis and to make food available and affordable to the generality of Nigerians," he said.
On hybrid seeds, Dr. Ruma said the Federal Government has adopted the 1992 National Agricultural seeds decree which resulted in the establishment of the National Agriculture Seed Council of Nigeria, the body assigned the overall policy guidelines and monitoring of the national seed systems.
Speaking in the same vein, Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, said his government's agricultural policy thrust was to ensure food security through fully harnessing of the state agricultural potentials and employment of modern Agricultural techniques.
He said more than 80 percent of Zamfara people engage in agricultural activities, which provides substantial means of income, which in turn ensures their socio-economic development.
He stressed that the policy has remained the main reason why the state is leading other states in agricultural production in the country.
Shinkafi disclosed that his government last year distributed 112, 900 metric tonnes of assorted fertiliser worth 7.1billion to various categories of farmers across the state at subsidised rates.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
