Covid-19 Intervention: Minister For Agriculture Avers That 35% Inputs Targeted At Women Farmers

By PrimeTime Voice

The Honorable Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Alhaji Sabo Nanono, who visited Cross River State for the second time as minister reveals that 35% of the inputs are targeted at the women farmers in line with the set target in the national Action Plan and Policies aimed at increased opportunities for the Women.

  

The Honorable Minister stated this at the Flag-off of the inputs distribution to farmers as part of the mitigation measure against the effect of Covid-19 Pandemic at the premises of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Cross River State.

Alhaji Nanono, stated that, with the advent of the novel Covid-19, the priority of every country in the world is to ensure limited disruption to its food supply chains , noting that a number of countries have banned or drastically reduced food exports to avoid scarcity of food’’.

Nanono stressed that, smallholder farmers are the most vulnerable, it becomes imperative for the government to support them with the much-needed inputs especially improved varieties of seeds and seedlings which are the most important factor that influences farmers’ yield in order to enable them to recover quickly from the set back of the Pandemic. 

The Honourable Minister stated that, the distribution of agricultural inputs to small scale farmers which include different categories of cocoa seedlings, improved oilpalm sprouted nuts and cashew seeds as become a Hallmark and part of the Ministry’s interventions to reduce the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on agricultural production and to avert food scarcity in the country in 2021

He pointed that the Ministry and it's research institutions are working towards making Nigeria self-sufficient in good quality seed and its availability to farmers as a foundation for attaining food and nutrition security as well as industrialization.

Nanono further said that, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is supporting breeder and foundation seeds production and linking up with the private seed companies to make certified seeds available to farmers, adding that, coupled with our efforts to improve rural infrastructure, other value-chains supports in Agriculture would invariably contribute to the attainment of Mr. President’s desire to ensure easy access to quality food and nutrition by Nigerians. 

He said that, the Ministry will support the oilpalm farmers, with 5,000 improved oilpalm sprouted nuts and 1,500kg improved cashew seed, the cocoa farmers will also be supported with 20,000 cocoa seedlings and agrochemicals. In addition, Rice farmers will be supported with 1,000 kg of rice seeds.

The Minister informed that, "this is fifth in the series of the distribution of the Ministry’s palliative incentive to farmers nationwide. The most recent being in Lokoja, Kogi State where the ministry collaborated with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (HADM&SD) to flag-off the distribution of Soybean, sesame, cashew and potatoes as well as fertilizers’’.

He acknowledged the cooperation and support received from Development Partners like OCP Africa Limited and International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), in the fight against the effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on our food security.

He urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of these inputs to produce food for the nation. 

The Minister Called on stakeholders in the Agricultural sector should provide similar support to farmers in order to defeat the Covid-19 Pandemic and become self-sufficient in food production’’.

In his remark, the Executive Governor of Cross Rivers State, Prof. Ben Ayade informed that the State government has laid a foundation for Agricultural empowerment which would lead to job creation and economic development. " this policies will enrich our farmers especially women and Youth".

In his welcome remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources Ntufam Okon Owuna, stated that Cross River State has become the a reference state in so many areas of national development. 

He said the Rice seedlings have been distributed to over ten states in Nigeria adding that the State has also encouraged farmers to go into commercial which aims at ensuring food sufficiency, employ generation and economic development. 

He applealed to the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to approve the handing over of completed projects which were executed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the state which include: Beehives allocated to state, abandoned Livestock Breed improvement center at Okuku among others. 

In her goodwill message, the Director - General, National Centre for Woman Development, Barr. Mary Ekpere-Eta stated that the Centre would commence Information and communication Technology (ICT) training for 100 Women farmers, adding that the policy will ensure that the women acquire basic technology based information for their farming business. 

Also, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture , Forestry and Wildfire Resources Management, University of Calabar, Prof Ausaji Ayuk commended the leadership of the Ministry for its proactive steps to reach out to the Smallholder farmers in this critical times of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Representations of the Oil Palm Farmers and Cocoa respectively who also spoke at the event begged that the programme should not be politicized, moreover the event should not be the usual political jamboree which starts and ends at the Flag-off. They commended the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for appointing an Agriculturist, a practicing farmer for the first time in history of Nigeria as Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development.

In her vote of thanks, Director, Federal Department of Agriculture of the Ministry, Mrs. Karima Babangida, noted that the choice of Cross River State is not out of place as the state has contributed significantly to the production of oil palm, cashew cocoa among others to the national economy, ‘is why we want to ensure that they get good quality seeds that will help Nigeria to be self-sufficient in staple food production’’. 

Source: opera.com