NEWS DIGEST: Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State has directed the payment of N900 million as a counterpart fund for the World Bank’s Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project.
He issued this directive during the launch of the distribution for agricultural inputs and seedlings, organized by Fadama and ACReSAL in Minna, benefiting farmers across the twenty-five local government councils.
Nairametrics reported that Governor Bago further directed the state Ministry of Finance to ensure the implementation of the directive.
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Achieving food self-sufficiency
Nairametrics learnt that the 25 local government councils in Niger State would cultivate 25,000 hectares of land next year to combat hunger and achieve food self-sufficiency.
Under this new strategy, each local government council will cultivate 10,000 hectares of land. Relevant ministries were tasked with collaborating to identify suitable land and crops for each council.
The governor also urged the youths in the state to embrace farming instead of remaining idle on the streets, emphasizing the importance of productivity in Niger State.
The distributed items to beneficiaries included two 50-kilogram bags of NPK fertilizer, one 50-kilogram bag of urea, two litres of herbicide, one litre of pesticide, 10 kilograms of rice and maize, and five kilograms of improved sorghum seeds.
This gesture aims to support farmers and ensure the implementation of the directive to achieve food self-sufficiency.
