Nasarawa State Government on Tuesday began the sale of 18,600 bags of NPK fertilizer to farmers for the 2020 farming season.
Speaking at the inauguration in Lafia, Governor Abdullahi Sule, said that the commodity would be sold at a subsidised rate of N5, 000 per bag.
Sule said the aim was to address food scarcity that might occur after the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ravaging the world.
The governor also flagged off the distribution of Ruminant Feed Supplements and Mineral Salt Licks donated by the Federal Government for livestock farmers.
A mineral lick is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals.
Governor Sule said that the Federal Government supplied the feed supplements and mineral salt licks free to the state and that they would also give it out free to farmers.
He recalled that the government had earlier procured and distributed 240 metric tonnes of assorted fertilizers to dry season farmers at subsidised rate, aimed at improving agricultural production in the state.
He said the distribution of farm inputs to farmers was to ensure all-year-round farming, with a view to attaining sustainable food production.
He added that the state had recently entered into an agreement with the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority for the acquisition of 500 hectares of land in Doma Local Government Area for the production of rice.
Sule said that the state was endowed with fertile land and good climatic suitable for arable crops, hence the need to explore the potential for increased industrial activities for the socio-economic development.
The governor also warned against diversion of the fertilizer as government would sanction anyone caught sabotaging its efforts.
He urged the public, especially farmers, to report any abnormality in the sale of the fertilizer to the appropriate authorities for prompt action.
Responding on behalf of farmers, Samuel Meshi, the state’s Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), thanked the governor for the gesture.
The AFAN Chairman expressed optimism that the state would witness bumper harvest from the farm inputs so far received from the governmentnan.
