At the event in Asaba, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari reaffirmed the commitment of the administration of President Bola Tinubu to ensuring food security, economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction .
Farm inputs which were distributed to farmers in various cooperative groups, commodity associations, farmers with special needs bodies, and women groups included knapsack sprayer, motorized sprayer, organic fertilizer, cocoa fungicide and hammer mill.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari said the farm inputs were given to the farmers as part of federal government efforts to encourage and support them in their farms towards ensuring food sufficiency.
Senator Kyari expressed the resolve of the present administration to developing the agricultural sector towards improving agriculture and rural productivity, as well as attaining the objective of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially that of Zero Hunger.
He said the choice of small scale farmers as beneficiaries of the farm inputs was occasioned by the fact that the small scale farmers were constrained by the high market cost of the essential inputs, hence the ministry had considered the implementation of short term plans and support mechanisms to make essential farm inputs more affordable and accessible to farmers through a transparent and accountable process.
The Minister represented by an Assistant Director in the ministry, Doctor Perpetua Iyere-Usiahon, farm puts distribution had been done in twelve states in the second phase of the program, assuring that the remaining states would benefit in the third phase in the coming weeks.
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Delta State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Kazeem Abdul Azeez, said the farm inputs distributed to farmers were meant to boost yield, minimize post harvest losses, and improve their incomes. He urged the beneficiaries to use the inputs wisely and responsibly.
Representative of the Delta State Government, and Functioning Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Doctor Edmund Orioko commended the initiative of the federal government for supporting farmers in the state with farm inputs, and gave an assurance of continued collaboration with the federal government, corporate bodies and groups in the drive to ensuring food sufficiency in the state.
Beneficiaries of the farm inputs who were full of gratitude to the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security , said the gesture, would boost their morale and farm productivity.
Highlight of the event included distribution of the farm inputs to the various cooperative groups.
