NALDA Distributes Agro-inputs to 900 Farmers in Ebonyi, Osun to Boost Food Production

James Emejo in Abuja

The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has distributed agricultural inputs to 900 accredited farmers in Ebonyi and Osun States, in renewed efforts to boost food security in the country.
Addressing beneficiaries on separate occasions, Executive Secretary/Chief Executive of the authority, Prince Paul Ikonne, said the intervention was in line with the ongoing drive to boost the availability of food at lower prices to Nigerians.
He said the input distribution aimed at assisting farmers across the country to maximize crop cultivation for improved yields and increased food production.
The input support included branded bags containing high-grade fertilizer, herbicides, and improved rice and maize seeds for Ebonyi as well as rice and bean seeds for farmers in Osun which can sufficiently cover half a hectare of farmland.
In Ebonyi, farmers from the benefiting local governments, mostly women and youths, to receive the empowerment packages from 10 communities in Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo Federal Constituency for the planting exercise involving 400 rice and maize farmers.
At the distribution exercise in Osun, 500 farmers drawn from all the local governments of the state were empowered with maize and bean seeds in Oshogbo the state’s capital.
For transparency, farmers were profiled on their farms for proper documentation on the website to aid the accurate distribution of the inputs for maximum results.
Represented by NALDA’s Head, Soil Science Department, Lucius Ndimele, Ikonne said the authority was implementing President Bola Tinubu’s directives to ensure that Nigerians produce enough food for the country.
He said NALDA would continue to distribute the inputs to all farmers in the comarket
He explained that the packages were for genuine farmers at the grassroots to boost food production and access to staple foods.
He said, “The government is making sure that you can produce what you’ll eat by providing you inputs and the essence of what we’re doing here today is to ensure Nigerians understand the importance of farming, make sure we produce what we eat, and reduce the price of food in the market.”
Tinubu had declared a state of emergency on food, putting NALDA on its toes to complement efforts through empowerment programmes which are expected to reduce the cost of food items within the next three to four months.