Niger State government yesterday kicked off the sales of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs for the 2020 farming season with 15,000 metric tons for distribution to designated stores in the state.
The State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, said the total of 15,000 metric tons of fertiliser made up of 10,000 metric tons of NPK and 5,000 metric tons of Urea would be delivered to designated government fertiliser stores in the state.
Bello, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, said the fertiliser would be sold at NN5, 500 and N7, 000 per bag for the NPK and Urea respectively.
According to him, “Some other essential farming inputs such as assorted seed and weed control chemicals have been made available at sales points for easy access by farmers. The inputs include 457 metric tons of assorted seeds and 107,050 litres of assorted agrochemicals.”
The items, he said, will be available in all the 25 local government areas of the state for farmers, adding that the governor was determined to ensure that agriculture does not suffer over the coronavirus pandemic.
Also speaking, Commissioner for Agriculture, Haliru Zakari Jikantoro, said the approach was to ensure that the activities of middlemen in the fertiliser distribution network in the state were minimised or completely eradicated.
Niger State Chairman of All Farmers Associations of Nigeria (AFAN), Alhaji Sheu Galadima, in a remark berated the insecurity in the state which had displaced majority of farmers constituting about 70 percent of the state’s population.
