Laleye Dipo in Minna
The Niger State Government has set aside N2billion for women farmers under the newly established Niger State Agricultural Credit Scheme, the permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Mathew Ahmed disclosed in Minna the state capital on Thursday.
Mr. Mathew Ahmed said under the scheme with little or no interest women would be encouraged to go into both peasant and large-scale farming.
Speaking at the flag-off of distribution of farm inputs to farmers in Kampala town by One Acre Fund, the Permanent Secretary also disclosed that each of the 25 local governments in the state will be given 10 tractors to be made available to farmers in the area to increase areas of cultivation and reduce farming drudgery.
“We have many development plans for farming in Niger State; the governor wants to encourage more women to go into farming” Mr. Mathew Ahmed said.
He also advocated insurance cover for farmers and their harvests to take care of post-harvest losses before disclosing that only 80% of disbursements to farmers last year were recovered as a result of post-harvest losses.
The Country Director of One Acre Fund, Mr. Adetola Adegbite, in an address disclosed the organisation will distribute no less than 19m trees in four states of the federation – Kwara, Plateau and Niger and Nasarawa to check desert encroachment and also serve as source of income.
Mr. Adegbite disclosed that between 2018 and 2025 beneficiaries of its programme rose from 150 farmers to the present 600,000 insisting that its programmes were not for profit making but to encourage people to go into farming.
Commenting on the losses suffered by farmers as a result of falling prices of products, Mr. Adegbite advised farmers to plant high breed seeds this planting season to enable them record increased harvest.
Assorted fertilizer, high breed seeds and agro-chemicals were given to farmers at reduced rates.
