Olawale Ajimotokan
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has doused the fears of farmers Abuja and urged them to go about the business of growing food for the residents as measures were being taken to ensure their safety.
The FCTA Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim, gave the assurance after the FCTA Executive Committee meeting which was chaired by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello.
Ibrahim, who made a presentation to the Committee on the activities of the Agriculture Secretariat, said that the issue of food security was being taken seriously by the FCT Administration.
“This (food security) is something that has been bothering the Secretariat. We have discussed it at different fora, such as the FCT Security Committee and also at EXCO, on the need to safeguard our farmers so that we do not experience food insecurity in the FCT,” he said.
He assured farmers of their safety, urging them to be security conscious by reporting any suspicious person or situations to the relevant security agencies.
He also said that farmers in the FCT were expecting a bumper harvest from the current farming season as the Secretariat had been working closely with the farmers by sensitising them on the best farming practices and techniques.
He added that the Secretariat has been collaborating with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NIMET) on weather related issues and sharing the information and analyses with the farmers.
Ibrahim also called on residents to imbibe the mantra of President Muhammadu Buhari urging Nigerians to eat what they grow and grow what they eat by embracing greenhouse farming which can be established at the backyards of most homes.
He disclosed the Secretariat has trained over 600 women and youths on greenhouse farming at the Gwagwalada demonstration farm of the Secretariat and urged all who desired to embrace greenhouse farming to go there or to the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) office also located in Gwagwalada for guidance and technical advice.
