In line with ongoing efforts to ensure availability of staple food for Nigerians, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has distributed agricultural inputs to farmers in Ebonyi state, in South East and Osun state in South Western Nigeria.
Commenting on the program, Paul Ikonne, the Executive Secretary of NALDA, said that the input distribution exercise is aimed towards assisting farmers across the country to maximize crop cultivation for improved yields and increased food production.
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Ikonne in a statement issued to BusinessDay, said that the distribution exercise targets genuine farmers in the grassroots in order to boost food production and access to staple foods in three country.
Addressing the beneficiaries in both states, Ikonne who was represented by Lucius Ndimele, the head of Soil Science Department of NALDA, said that the program was in line with the directives of President Bola Tinubu to ensure that Nigerians produce enough food for Nigerians, adding that NALDA would continue the distribution of farm inputs till it get to farmers in every states of the country.
“The government is making sure that you can produce what you’ll eat by providing you inputs and the essence of what we’re doing here today is to ensure Nigerians understand the importance of farming, make sure we produce what we eat and reduce the price of food in the market
“The NALDA empowerment program is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to NALDA to reach out to farmers across the country to ensure they produce food while helping the country achieve food sufficiency.
“It would be recalled that President Tinubu had declared a state of emergency on food hence the move by NALDA to compliment the President’s food security efforts through empowerments program to cushion the effect of high cost of living.
“It is expected that in the next 3 to 4 months, the outputs from this program, would help in the significant drop in the cost of food items in the market,” the statement read.
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He further noted that the empowerment of farmers by NALDA is a continuous exercise to encourage more Nigerians to go into farming, to ensure the nation is self-sufficient in food production thus boosting food security for the teeming population.
According to the statement, 900 accredited farmers selected from each local government area of both states benefited from empowerment program. Receiving a NALDA branded bag containing high grade fertilizer, herbicides and improved rice and maize seeds for Ebonyi and rice and beans seeds for Osun states that can effectively cover half an hectare of farm land.
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“In Ebonyi, beneficiaries from the benefiting local governments of the state consisting of mostly women and youths, gathered at Ishiagu Community in Ivo Local Government area of the state to receive the empowerment packages from NALDA officials.
“400 farmers consisting of 200 maize and 200 rice farmers were drawn from 10 communities in Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo Federal Constituency for the exercise.
“For Osun state, 500 farmers drawn from all the local government of the state, were empowered with Maize and beans seeds in Oshogbo the state the state capital.
“Just like Ebonyi state, farmers were captured on their farms and the size of their farms taken for proper documentation on the website created and for accurate distribution of the inputs for maximum result,” it added.
