A set of 900 farmers in Ebonyi and Osun states have received various agricultural inputs from the Federal Government to boost food production, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority announced on Friday.
It said the agro-empowerment scheme was in line with ongoing efforts to ensure the availability of staple food for Nigerians.
“The input distribution is aimed at assisting farmers across the country to maximise crop cultivation for improved yields and increased food production,” NALDA stated in a statement issued in Abuja.
It added, “900 accredited beneficiaries of the empowerment programme received a NALDA branded bag containing high-grade fertilisers, herbicides and improved rice and maize seeds for Ebonyi, and rice and beans seeds for Osun that can effectively cover half a hectare of farmland. The inputs were distributed based on each state’s area of agricultural specialisation in view.”
The agency stated that in Ebonyi, beneficiaries from the benefiting local governments of the state consisting of mostly women and youths, gathered at Ishiagu Community in the Ivo Local Government area to receive the empowerment packages from NALDA officials.
“400 farmers consisting of 200 maize and 200 rice farmers were drawn from 10 communities in Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo federal constituency for the exercise,” the agency stated.
It further stated that in Osun, 500 farmers drawn from all the local governments of the state were empowered with maize and bean seeds in Oshogbo, the state capital.
“Just like Ebonyi State, farmers were captured on their farms and the size of their farms taken for proper documentation on the website created and for accurate distribution of the inputs for maximum result,” the agency stated.
Speaking to the farmers in both states, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NALDA, Paul Ikonne, who was represented by the Head, Soil Science Department Lucius Ndimele, said NALDA, with the directives of President Bola Tinubu, would ensure that Nigerians produce enough food for the country.
He said NALDA would continue to distribute these inputs till they get to farmers in every state across the country.
According to him, the distribution exercise targets genuine farmers at the grassroots to boost food production and access to staple foods in Nigeria.
“The government is making sure that you can produce what you eat by providing you inputs and the essence of what we are doing here today is to ensure that Nigerians understand the importance of farming, make sure we produce what we eat, and reduce the price of food in the market,” Ikonne stated.
He said the NALDA empowerment programme is in line with Tinubu’s directive to the agency to reach out to farmers across the country and ensure they produce food while helping the nation achieve food sufficiency.
President Tinubu had declared a state of emergency on food upon assumption of office last year, hence the move by NALDA to complement the President’s food security efforts through empowerment programmes to cushion the effect of the high cost of living in Nigeria.
“It is expected that in the next three to four months, the outputs from this programme would help to significantly reduce the cost of food items in the market.
“The empowerment of farmers by NALDA is a continuous exercise to encourage more Nigerians to go into farming to ensure self-sufficiency in food production and boost food security for the teeming population,” the agency stated.
