Kwara government distributes 42,000 bags of fertilisers

The Kwara State Government on Wednesday began the distribution of 42,000 bags of fertilisers to farmers across the state.

The fertilisers were donated to the state government by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Community Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, who supervised the distribution, said each farmer will get at least three bags of fertilisers at no cost.

“This is a federal government’s intervention that complements what the state government has already done on three different occasions,” Mr Olohungbebe said.

“Here we have 50 trucks of NPK fertilisers and 20 trucks of Urea fertilisers, making 70 trucks altogether, donated by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to the people of Kwara State,” he sat at the inauguration ceremony.

“This would be a continuous exercise. At the state level, we have distributed fertilisers and other farm inputs in three batches. But this one is coming from the federal government. The federal government has given it to the state free of charge, and we are giving it to real farmers free of charge, too.”

Mr Olohungbegbe said the distribution of the items would be handled by a Fertiliser Distribution Committee in each local government area, headed by the directors of Personnel Management with community leaders as members.

He listed members of the committee as local government development officers, traditional and community leaders, community-based organisations, representatives of CAN and Jama’atu Nasrul Islam, civil society organisations, people living with disability and farmers, among others.

He thanked the federal government for the gesture and promised that the exercise would be properly monitored to ensure that the item gets to the real farmers.

“On behalf of citizens of Kwara State, led by the Chairman of NGF, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, CON, we appreciate the federal government for this gesture, and we look forward to more collaborative efforts shortly,” he said.

“We assure the federal government that these items would get to the grassroots. In Kwara, we don’t joke with the grassroots because we are running a community-based government.”

The directors of Personnel Management in Baruten and Kaiama LGs, Olanike Olashade and Felicia Aina, in their separate remarks, described the exercise as a welcome development, saying it will enhance farmers’ output and improve food security in the country.

The Development Officer for Patigi Local Government, Fatimoh Jiya, for her part, said the intervention is laudable and will drive food sufficiency.