The Zamfara State Government, in collaboration with the Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), on Friday made available improved cotton seeds to 1,000 farmers across the 14 local government areas of the state.
The special adviser, Zamfara State Directorate of Accelerated Cotton Development, Alhaji Abdullahi M. Maiturare, said each farmer that plants the seed would be given fertiliser, insecticide and pesticide for free.
While asking farmers to make good use of the seeds, he noted that government would buy back the produce after harvest through a buyback policy. He stated that the state government was committed to restoring the state’s cotton industry by assisting cotton farmers.
“We are confident that through our good policies the farmers’ attention will be shifted to cotton production, and this will facilitate the creation of wealth by our teeming farmers in the state,” he added.
Alhaji Maiturare had earlier said the state government had dedicated 130,000 hectares of farmlands located across the 17 emirate councils of the state, and this was done to achieve the success of the programme and remedy the shortage of lands for farming occasioned by insecurity and other allied factors.
He said the state government, in collaboration with the RMRDC had 4.5 tonnes of improved variety of cotton seed suitable to the farmlands, and it was estimated to cover at least 2,000 hectares.
