Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari kas kicked off distribution of subsidised inputs to about 6,000 wheat farmers in Kano state.
The Minister represented by the State Coordinator, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Isa Hotoro, made the distribution on Thursday at the Aggregation Centre in Alkamawa village in Bunkure LGA of the state.
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He said the inputs distribution which is under the Federal Government’s special program on wheat production, is expected to boost wheat production as the government gave the inputs at 75 percent subsidy.
“The Federal government gave the inputs at 75 percent subsidy while the farmers will pay the balance of 25 percent.
“Each farmer will collect three bags of fertilizer and one bag of 50kg wheat seeds at the cost of N111,000 which represents 25 percent of the total package,” he said.
According to the Minister, the farmers are expected to cultivate 3,000 hectares of farmlands in 12 special clusters at Alkamawa in Bunkure, Ajingi and Gaya LGAs.
“Each farmer is expected to cultivate 0.5 hectares in the 12 special clusters in Alkamawa, Ajingi and Gaya Local Government Areas of the state,” the Minister said.
In separate interviews, some of the farmers appreciated the Federal Government for the gesture as according to them high cost of the inputs and transportation had compelled most of the farmers in the areas to reduce the number of hectares they used to cultivate.
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One of the farmers, Yakubu Ibrahim said he used to cultivate five hectares but had reduced it to two hectares due to the current economic crisis in the country.
They, however, urged the government to ensure timely distribution of the inputs to enable farmers prepare early enough.
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