The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has distributed farm inputs and equipment to smallholder farmers in Zamfara State as part of the Federal Government’s food security drive.

Speaking at the event, Kyari described the exercise as a historic step towards delivering on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that food security remains a top national priority.

He noted that the administration had declared food security a national emergency in July 2023 and had since rolled out reforms and programmes to boost agricultural production, create jobs, and reduce the cost of living.

“As a flag-off exercise, the Ministry is supporting small-scale farmers in Zamfara with inputs and equipment, including tractors, solar water pumps, power tillers, certified rice seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, knapsack sprayers, and storage bags,” Kyari said.

He explained that the items would be distributed through commodity associations, cooperative groups, farmers with special needs, and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Kyari added that the intervention was designed to cushion the high market costs of inputs and make them more accessible to farmers through a transparent process.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with states, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to promote food security, economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.

“The resolve of this administration is to develop the agricultural sector towards improving productivity and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly that of zero hunger,” the minister stated.