Niger State Governor Mohammed Umar Bago has announced a reduction in the prices of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs by 50 per cent to boost food security in the state.
The governor made this known at the flag-off of the 2024 farming season’s sales and distribution of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs at the farm centre in Minna.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to prioritising agriculture and investing in machinery and technology to boost productivity, in line with his ambitious New Niger Agenda.
Bago said: “We are committed to achieving sustainable food security, reducing food costs, and addressing unemployment. Also, to ensure affordability and support for the 2024 farming season and beyond, we are subsidising fertiliser prices by 50 per cent.”
Earlier, the Niger State Commissioner for Agriculture, Musa Salihu Bawa Bosso, said in his remarks that his ministry is presently working in collaboration with Niger Food to achieve the directive of cultivating 10,000 hectares of land in each of the 25 local government areas.
According to him: “The Niger State Agricultural and Mechanisation Development Authority ( NAMDA) is working with Niger Food to address the needs of 20,000 smallholder farmers and 10,000 mediumholders, having access to 1,000 power tillers and agro-inputs.”
He further said: ” As of today, a bag of grains (maize, sorghum, millet, and rice) is sold between the range of N80,000 and N90,000, this is far beyond the reach of an ordinary Nigerlite, thus, we are respectfully requesting His Excellency to support the resuscitation of the state’s buffer stock programme, which has been in a comatose condition for several years.
“This will enable the Ministry to mop up grains and stock in state-owned designated warehouses during harvest to be sold to the public at a time like this at a friendly price.”