Northeast Commission to distribute tractors, equipment to farmers in Gombe

The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has procured tractors and other agricultural equipment for distribution to farmers in Gombe state, in an effort to boost farming activities.

The Managing Director of the commission, Mohammed Goni Alkali, who disclosed this on Thursday in Gombe after inspecting the equipment, said the tractors and equipment would be distributed under the NEDC’s Agricultural Mechanisation and Modernisation Scheme.

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He stated that the equipment to be distributed includes 29 tractors, 29 plywood, 29 boom sprayer, 29 planters, 55 power tillers, 55 power tiller trailers and 14 power tiller water pumps among others.

“We have designed this integrated agricultural programme, having realised that over 95 percent of people in the North East depend on agriculture so that people will go back to the farm in a more modernise way, this is why we get the tractors in Gombe to be distributed to farmers.

“The tractors and other equipment were assembled here in Gombe by local people, who were trained to do the job and will also be there to train other people to maintain a service centre that would be established,” Alkali explained.

He added that the farmers would also be empowered through training on modern farming techniques in a more organised manner, to boost agricultural production and food processing towards achieving food security.

The managing director also said the commission had equipped an ICT centre at the Community Education Resource Centre (CERC) for the training of youth on mobile phone pairs and computer graphics

He revealed that over 2000 youths and women are being targeted for the training, which seeks to empower the youth, keep them off the street and make them self-reliant and contribute to the economy.

Alkali added that at the end of the training, the participants will be provided with starter kits and mobile kiosks to set up small businesses and become entrepreneurs, “our target is for them to engage others to work under them thereby create multiple numbers of jobs.”