President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Yobe State Agricultural Empowerment Programme in Damaturu, as part of his administration’s commitment to enhancing food security and promoting economic growth across Nigeria.
The programme, which includes the provision of agricultural machinery and implements, forms a crucial element of the national strategy to revolutionize Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Representing President Tinubu at the launch, Vice President Kashim Shettima emphasized the initiative’s importance in driving food security, job creation, and economic diversification through agriculture.
Highlighting the pivotal role of agriculture in national development, President Tinubu stated, “Food is the heart of security in every society. It is the foundation upon which we build our health, our well-being, and our economic stability. We cannot achieve our grand goals as a government without supporting and empowering our farmers.”
The President noted that beyond increasing agricultural output, the initiative aims to engage more Nigerians in the nation’s economic activities. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to modernizing the agricultural sector, including the livestock industry, with the recent approval of the Ministry of Livestock Development designed to enhance livestock production and transform the sector’s narrative.
Addressing the need for modern farming techniques, Tinubu stressed, “The era of relying on rain-fed agriculture is gone. These machines are here to ease our practice of irrigation farming.”
President Tinubu also approved additional resources for Yobe State to bolster its agricultural ambitions, including mini-rigs for tube wells, solar water pumps, agro-chemicals, power tillers, more fertilizers, and other farm implements to support the irrigation scheme.
On security concerns, Tinubu assured the audience of the government’s commitment to ensuring safe and accessible farmlands across Nigeria. Vice President Shettima, who represented the President at the event, visited the Emir of Damaturu, Alhaji Shehu Hashim II Ibn Umar Al-Amin El-Kanemi, conveying President Tinubu’s high regard for Yobe State and its people.
Vice President Shettima commended Governor Mai Mala Buni’s achievements in agricultural investments, underscoring the potential for agricultural mechanization in the state. In response, the Emir of Damaturu expressed gratitude for President Tinubu’s support and the administration’s efforts towards national progress.
Governor Buni reiterated Yobe State’s support for the Tinubu administration, acknowledging the challenges in the agricultural sector but noting significant improvements in security, making farmlands accessible in almost all local government areas.
Governor Buni outlined several government initiatives aimed at revitalizing agriculture, including an Agricultural Summit, the formation of a Steering Committee on Revitalization of Agriculture, and partnerships with organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He highlighted the establishment of Livestock Development Centres to address farmer-herdsmen clashes and boost meat and dairy production.
Buni also mentioned the revival of the 2,000-hectare Lava Irrigation Scheme and the establishment of four sesame seed processing factories across the state.
The launch of the agricultural empowerment programme saw the distribution of various items, including 100 Zoom Lion Tractors, 10 IMC Double Cabin 4-wheel drive vehicles for extension service supervision, 200 motorcycles for extension workers, 300 sets of ox-drawn ploughs, 5,349 small ruminants (goats), 1,349 hand-push planters, 889 hand-push plough machines, 590 hand-push tiller machines, 4,202 solar-powered irrigation water pumps, improved assorted seeds, and 72,000 bags of fertilizer.
Dignitaries at the event included the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State; APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Hon. Ali Bukar Dalori; APC Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Emma Eneukwu; Senator Osita Izunaso; former President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan; Rep. Khadijah Bukar Abba Ibrahim; Deputy Governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Idi Barde Gubana; Speaker of the Yobe State House of Assembly, Hon. Buba Chiroma-Mashio, and his Deputy, Hon. Ya’u Usman Dachia.
Also present were the Yobe State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Mohammed Gadaka; Yobe State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Mohammed Gagiyo; former Special Adviser on Budget, Alhaji Sulieman Jamo; Emir Jajeri, Mai Hamza ibn Buba Mashio; Emir of Bade, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Sulaiman; Chief Judge of Yobe, Gumna Kashim Kaigama; Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ahmed Garba; and members of the House of Representatives, Lawan Shettima, Fatima Talba, and Tijjani Zanna Zakariyya, among others.
