Yobe Govt. embarks on irrigation farming to bridge food gaps


 The Yobe Government has said it has cleared 1,500 hectares of land to cultivate rice, wheat and vegetables under its irrigation farming project to bridge food gap in the state.
The Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Alhaji Mustapha Gajirima, who  disclosed this in  in Damaturu, said  that the programme would supplement food shortage created by low agricultural activities in the last three years due to security challenges across the state.
"The irrigation project will for a start employ over 4,000 youths to produce rice, wheat and vegetable on the Nguru and Giedam wetlands.
"Government is placing emphasis on irrigation because it has become more realistic against desertification, low rainfall and other natural factors affecting the state.
"The ministry has also deployed tractors and other farm inputs to boost agricultural production in all parts of the state" he said.
Alhaji Musa Jidawa, the Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said the agency was partnering with humanitarian organisations to rehabilitate agricultural production in areas affected by insurgency.
He said that the state government in collaboration with the Victims Support Fund (VSF), launched a N135 million agricultural empowerment programme for 2,000 households in Gujba and Gulani Local Government Areas.
"The programme provided the returnees with improved seedlings, fertiliser, herbicides and cash assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who relocated to Buni-Yadi and Gulani to encourage agricultural production."
Jidawa said that government in collaboration with other partners also provided the returnees with food items including rice, millet and sorghum to support their resettlement and rehabilitation process.
Alhaji Modu Gana, the Secretary of the state food security programme, said that the state government in collaboration with international agencies like Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) among others have supported 8,000 agricultural households.
He added that the state government collaborated with the World Food Programme (WFP) to ensure the success of the programme.
He said the partnership provided improved seeds, fertiliser and herbicides to the people to boost agricultural production.
"Gujba, Gulani and Fika Local Government Areas produce about 60 per cent of food needs in the state.
However, agricultural production was abandoned in these areas in the last three years due to security challenges.
"The partners have as a matter of deliberate policy deployed agricultural inputs to these areas referred to as the food basket of the state to boost production and close the gap in food needs of the state" Gana said. 

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