By Isma’il Adamu; Editing by Basirat Memudu
The Katsina State government has commenced the distribution of 90,000 bags of 100kg assorted grains to vulnerable households across the 34 Local Government Areas of the State.
Addressing beneficiaries at the launch of the grains distribution held in Kaita local government area, Governor Dikko Radda said the intervention was part of short-term measures to cushion the effect of food inflation on citizens while long term measures were being taken to boost agriculture and enterpreneurship to boost the local economy.
“While government is aware that distributing food items to households is not sustainable, we consider it necessary to step in with timely relief to vulnerable families during periods of rising food prices to help them cope with competing expenses.
“These investments are deliberately designed to strengthen food production as the most sustainable response to food insecurity is to empower our farmers to produce more, reduce the cost of production, create rural employment and improve household incomes”, he said.
Radda noted that the intervention was part of a broader support to vulnerable households, adding that his administration had previously distributed 90,000 bags of millet, maize and guinea corn, to vulnerable families.
“The objective is not simply to distribute more, but to distribute better to improve targeting, strengthen accountability and ensure that government support reaches the target beneficiaries”, he said.
On the mode of distribution, the governor urged officials involved to ensure fairness and transparency, warning that personal relationships, social status and other interests must not prevent deserving citizens from benefiting.
Earlier, the State Coordinator of the State’s Community Development Programme (CDP), Kamaluddeen Kabir, explained that the agency’s structure across the 361 wards would ensure that the grains reached vulnerable households with priority to widows, elderly persons and persons with disabilities.
He said the grains comprising maize, rice, millet and sorghum will be distributed through Community Level Committees, and warned the committees against hoarding, diversion or sale of the food items.
