Zamfara’s Gov. Bello Matawalle inaugurated the sale of 3,000 tonnes of assorted fertilisers to farmers on Tuesday in Gusau for the 2022 rainy season.
He said the fertilisers would sell at N15,000 per 50kg bag on cash-and-carry basis as government could not recoup the cost of fertilisers
The governor said the sale of the fertilisers under the Zamfara Comprehensive Agricultural Revolution Programme meant that government’s efforts were yielding results as farmers were returning to their farms.
“Farming has remained the mainstay of our economy with more than 80 per cent of our people having farming and agriculture-related businesses as their predominant economic activities.
“For the 2022 rainy season farming, the state government has procured 3,000 metric tonnes of assorted fertilisers.
“These fertilisers will be sold to more than 2,000 registered farmers’ associations at a subsidised rate of N15,000 per bag,’’ he said.
The governor observed that in previous years, fertilisers were sold to farmers in form of loans where farmers paid deposits and settled their balances after harvest.
“Sadly, government found it difficult to get some of the loan beneficiaries to pay up.
“This problem has been impeding government’s efforts at providing farmers with the much-needed fertilisers and other farm implements,’’ Gov. Matawalle said.
He explained that as fallout of the negative attitude of many of the farmers, government decided to sell the fertilisers on a cash-and-carry basis, but at subsidised rate.
“It is, therefore, our expectation that our farmers will cooperate in the new initiative and benefit maximally from the gesture.
“Similarly, a newly designed programme will be unveiled in the coming months, targeting farmers and civil servants.
“Under the programme, government will lease farmlands to interested individuals,’’ he said.
He explained that the programme hoped to keep farmers and civil servants busy during the dry season.
He said the programme would serve as a source of revenue for government and would positively impact on the state’s economy.
“With this initiative, I assure all and sundry that government will do everything possible to ensure the security of lives and property of citizens.
“We will continue to step up efforts to ensure that our rural areas are secure enough to allow unimpeded access to farms.
“This administration has been able to come up with a wide range of poverty alleviation programmes to reduce poverty rate among our people,’’ the governor said.
Gov. Matawalle added that government was collaborating with various development partners and foreign investors to improve on the local economy through job creation and revenue generation.
