Farmers laud Jigawa govt’s farm support programme


Some farmers in Hadejia have commended the Jigawa Government for introducing farmer support services to boost rice production.
The farmers, who spoke with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Hadejia, said that the gesture had eased the difficulties which they experienced in accessing farm inputs.
Malam Muhammad Yusuf, a rice grower, said that the programme had assisted and encouraged farmers to produce more rice due to the availability of fertilisers.
Yusuf said that fertilisers, seeds and chemicals were distributed to farmers for dry season crop growing under the Farm Cluster Scheme.
“We received about 400 bags of assorted fertilisers, seeds and chemicals.
“Over 100 farmers from our cluster got the commodities at subsidised rates,” he said.
Yusuf said that members of his group had already started cultivating their lands at Kafigi-Kudu, Kafigi-Arewa and Rafin Santsi rice plantations.
He, however, urged the government to expand the scope of the programme so as to mobilise more farmers to partake in it.
Another farmer, Malam Umar Gambo, also commended the government for the deployment of extension workers and the training of farmers in modern farming techniques.
He said that the gesture would enhance the farmers’ skills, add value to their produce and stimulate efforts to achieve food sufficiency in the country.
However, Danladi Haruna, a farmer, urged fellow farmers to settle the loans given to them under the Farm Cluster Scheme in order to ensure the sustainability of the programme.
He said that it was imperative for the beneficiary farmers to defray their loans so as to enable more people to benefit from the programme.
NAN reports that statistics from the state’s Ministry of Agriculture showed that 36, 250 farmers registered for the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme in the state.

NAN also reports that the state government had acquired over 10,000 tonnes of fertilisers as well as seeds and chemicals for distribution to farmers for dry season farming.

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