Smallholder farmers in Nigeria have heaved a sigh of relief following the federal government’s flag-off of the distribution of more than 10 million bags of fertilizer and the announcement on Guaranteed Price Model for 2 million smallholder farmers nationwide.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Zaria, Kaduna state, the minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari said, it is in continuation of government’s plan to maintain price control and ensure food availability, accessibility and affordable for Nigerians.
For generations, smallholder farmers wade through struggles and difficulties to acquire fertilizers and improved seeds for cultivation and to increase their yields, carrying every risk alone. The minister of agriculture and food security, Abubakar Kyari, said change has come as government is set to implement the Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund (RH-SVCF)
To ensure targeted results are achieved, the programme will provide 2 million smallholder farmers across Nigeria, with over 10 million bags of good quality fertilizer, at the right time and in the right quantities to improve productivity.
For now, about 300,000 farmers have been on boarded into the programme, and more than 1.1 million bags of fertilizer and over 16,470 metric tonnes of improved seeds have being deployed through 20 Farmer Aggregation outfits operating across more than 20 states of the Federation.
Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
