Federal Government is to distribute agricultural inputs to three hundred and eighty two thousand farmers affected by the 2020 flood disaster across the country under the National Food Security Council.
Speaking at the flag off of the distribution in Kebbi State, the Chairman, National Food Security Council, President Muhammadu Buhari, assured of the Council’s commitment in facilitating programmes and initiatives to enhance food production in the country through the provision of incentives to farmers and others engaged in agro-allied and food processing in the country.
Represented by the the Vice Chairman of the Council and Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Bagudu, President Buhari said the intervention was not a compensation but an assistance to farmers to cushion the effect of flood disaster and to start their farming activities.
According to him, President Buhari, had also approved for the Ministries of Water Resources, Environment and Transportation to come up with a long term provision which will provide a national drainage mechanism to mitigate the adverse effect of flooding to the economy.
The Minister of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Faruq, represented by the Special Adviser humanitarian to the minister, Aisha Ibrahim Abubakar, said the intervention would provide emergency agricultural inputs, significantly to support farmers that lost their crops and farm lands as a result of the 2020 flood disaster in some states of the country.
According to her, in regards to the incidence, President Muhammadu Buhari, deployed a high level delegation of ministers including her ministry to visit some of the affected states and commiserate with the people which kebbi state was among.
She said, the President also directed National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA to deliver humanitarian relief to complement the effort of the state governments to give succour to the affected people.
The Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA) Mustapha Habib Ahmad, urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the inputs.
Over ninety thousand farmers affected by the 2020 flood are to benefit from the agricultural inputs that includes seedlings, fertilizer, sprayer, pumping machine, agro-chemicals among others.
Abdullahi Tukur
