The Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with Fadama N-CARES and Bago CARES, has flagged off the 2024 agricultural inputs and assets distribution to farmers across the 25 council areas of Niger State under the N-CARES, Result Area 2 scheme.

The Acting Governor, Yakubu Garba performed the ceremony at the Mechanisation and Development Authority (NAMDA) in Minna.

He said the initiative was to enhance the government’s capacity to support vulnerable families and facilitate the recovery of local economic activities.

Garba disclosed that the intervention would benefit 94,500 persons, who are to be supported with agricultural inputs, assets, and small primary processing equipment, while additional 37,500 farmers would have access to improved agricultural infrastructure, with 30 markets to be rehabilitated.

He reaffirmed the state government’s determination to continued investment in agricultural development to increase food production, stimulate agro-industrialisation, and provide employment opportunities in line with the New Niger agenda.

Garba assured that the current administration was committed to attracting investments and supporting the interventions of development partners in various aspects of the agricultural value chain.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Musa Bawa Bosso, highlighted that 13,600 out of the 94,500 beneficiaries would be provided with crops, aquaculture, and poultry, while 30,000 individuals from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and flood victims would benefit from food assistance.

He also hinted that 37,500 farmers would have access to 173 agricultural infrastructure, which include roads, culverts, mini bridges, solar boreholes spread across the council areas, while 13,400 farmers and processors will benefit from production and processing assets.

In a chat, the Coordinator of FADAMA NG-CARES, Niger State, Mohammed Kudu Shehu, noted that the essence of the exercise was to mitigate the effects of COVID:19, and better the lot of poor farmers, adding that the arrangements provide for input assets and rural infrastructure.

The FADAMA boss emphasised that the target of the state government was to enhance the living standard of poor farmers.