Laleye Dipo in Minna
Niger State government is to commit over N5 billion to the mechanisation of agriculture throughout the state in this year’s farming season, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago,has disclosed.
Bago said at the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Niger State Chapter in Minna that part of the plan was for the delivery of 300 tractors and other equipment to the state soon.
The governor also assured that all arable land in the state would be secured against criminal elements, assuring them that the security of lives of the people would be guaranteed to make them till the ground in safety.
Part of the agreement was for AFAN to serve as outgrowers of different kinds of crops in the 2024 dry season while Niger State Government would provide 550,000 hectares of land to 35,000 farmers to produce three million tonnes of food.
In addition, the agreement entailed some of the farmers using their own land and water resources while the State Government would provide them with inputs worth N3 billion.
According to the agreement, the Government would recoup its investment from the harvests but 40% of the profit would go to the farmers while the government would take the remaining 60%.
Bago described the agreement as “a milestone” in his revolutionary plans for the Agricultural sector, believing that, “very soon the state will cease to be regarded as a civil service State.”
He pointed out also that plans were on for the state to make a transition from subsistent to mechanised farming.
The Governor, therefore, appealed for total commitment from AFAN for the agreement to achieve the desired results.
