FG to support 80,000 farmers in Jigawa

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has assured farmers in Jigawa State that they would receive farm inputs at subsidized rates for the 2024/25 dry season.

Engineer Sale Salisu gave the pledge while conducting newsmen round to monitor the supervision of distributions of farm inputs to wheat farmers in one of the sales centres at Tsakuwawa in Jahun LGA, Jigawa State.

Salisu who is the Jigawa State Co-ordinator, was fielding questions against the backdrop of allegations of sharp practices involving some agro-dealers handling the distribution of the materials to the farmers whom they alleged were not following the laid down rules and regulations.

Under the exercise, tagged: National Agricultural Growth Scheme & Agro-Pocket (NAGS&AP) Inputs Packages for 2024/25 Dry Season, more than 60, 000 dry season farmers are being supplied fertilizers, improved seedlings and insecticides at highly subsidized rates across the state.

Some of the centres visited were in Dutse, the state capital, and the Tsakuwawa community in Miga local government council, all in the Jigawa central district

At both centres, farmers who gathered in their hundreds were seen complaining about the slow pace of the exercise, which they claimed was affecting wheat farming in the state.

For example, one Umar Abbas Dutse said he had been coming to the centre to access the items but has been unable to get them. Similar complaints were heard in Tsakuwawa.

Salisu blamed the farmers’ uncooperative attitude for the delay in the distribution of the materials, assuring, however that everything was being done to ensure that every farmer who is eligible and who is captured would receive their packages.

He added that Jigawa State has about 80,000 allocations from the federal government because of its lead position in wheat farming in the country.