The First Woman of Nigeria, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, has inaugurated the 2026 farming season and flagged off the distribution of mechanisation enhance apparatus to farmers around the 25 native executive spaces of Niger State.
The inauguration, which attracted many dignitaries, together with ministers, the nationwide management of the All Progressives Congress (APC), contributors of the State Government Council, building companions, and stakeholders within the agricultural sector, used to be held on the Bola Ahmed Tinubu World Airport, Minna.
The rural implements dispensed come with 250 tractors, 50 mix harvesters, 150,000 luggage of fertiliser, 1,500 planters, ploughs, increase sprayers, and harrows geared toward strengthening mechanised farming and adorning productiveness around the state.
Talking on the match, the spouse of the President counseled the Farmer Governor of Niger State for his daring agricultural transformation projects, noting that the state has firmly established itself as considered one of Nigeria’s main agricultural hubs.
She noticed that the intervention represents a planned shift from subsistence farming to fashionable, mechanised, and commercially pushed agriculture in a position to stimulating financial expansion, growing employment alternatives, and making certain meals safety.
Consistent with her, the initiative is not just about expanding meals manufacturing but additionally about development a sustainable agricultural price chain that may enhance processing, garage, transportation, advertising and marketing, and export alternatives for agricultural produce.
Sen. Oluremi Tinubu said that the mechanisation programme would empower farmers with the vital equipment to beef up yields, cut back post-harvest losses, fortify family earning, and give a contribution considerably to the country’s Gross Home Product (GDP).
She added that the initiative aligns with the Renewed Hope Schedule of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, specifically within the spaces of meals availability, affordability, financial diversification, and rural building.
The First Woman congratulated farmers around the state and recommended them to make even handed use of the apparatus and inputs supplied whilst embracing fashionable farming applied sciences and perfect agricultural practices.
Farmer Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago stated the funding in agriculture by means of his management is focused at supporting farming actions on over 120,000 hectares of land around the 25 native executive spaces of the state.
He disclosed that the initiative is anticipated to generate over 3,000 direct and oblique jobs and bring an estimated 500,000 metric lots of various meals merchandise right through each rainy and dry farming seasons yearly.
The Governor defined that past number one manufacturing, the intervention is strategically designed to stimulate all the agricultural price chain, together with mechanised land preparation, enter provide, irrigation farming, aggregation, processing, packaging, garage, logistics, and marketplace get entry to.
He added that the large-scale funding may also inspire agro-processing industries, draw in personal sector participation, improve commodity export doable, and create alternatives for early life and ladies participation in agriculture-related enterprises.
Governor Bago said that for the reason that graduation of agricultural mechanisation within the state, exceptional development has been recorded, stressing that agriculture stays a most sensible precedence of his management in its quest to place Niger State because the meals basket and agro-industrial hub of Nigeria.
He additional printed that the state executive will amplify irrigation infrastructure to enhance all-year-round farming and determine efficient off-take mechanisms for farm produce via strategic partnerships and commodity marketplace methods.
The Farmer Governor known as on farmers, traders, building companions, and different stakeholders to collaborate with the Niger Meals Safety Programs and Logistics Restricted achieve the state’s agricultural transformation goals.
He additionally appealed to the First Woman to maintain her enhance for Niger State by means of facilitating extra agricultural investments in a position to unlocking the huge untapped potentials within the sector for nationwide building.
The APC Nationwide Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, applauded the initiative and expressed self belief that Niger State would emerge as a big meals safety and agro-processing hub, particularly with the continued Sokoto-Badagry Tremendous Freeway challenge anticipated to beef up transportation and marketplace connectivity.
Additionally talking, the Minister of Knowledge and Nationwide Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, described agriculture as essential to the country’s financial steadiness and stated the Federal Govt is enforcing insurance policies geared toward making sure the sphere contributes extra considerably to nationwide GDP expansion.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Meals Safety, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, stated the Federal Govt is strengthening partnerships with states and stakeholders to spice up meals manufacturing national, including that Niger State is offering sturdy management in agricultural productiveness because of its huge arable land.
Chairman of Niger Meals Safety Programs and Logistics, Mr. Sammy Adigun, stated the state’s huge agricultural doable puts it in a strategic place to force meals manufacturing, agro-processing, and export building.
He defined that Niger Meals, as a distinct objective automobile of the state executive, is taking part with technical and monetary companions to domesticate broad expanses of land via mechanisation and built-in value-chain methods.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Isah Sidi Rijau, stated the intervention aligns with the Renewed Hope Schedule and the Federal Govt’s meals safety goals, assuring that the state will proceed to counterpoint nationwide efforts towards reaching meals sufficiency and sovereignty.
The Secretary to the Niger State Govt (SSG), Abubakar Usman, described the development as a big milestone within the agricultural mechanisation programme of the Bago management, reflecting its dedication to modernising agriculture, expanding productiveness, empowering farmers, and strengthening agribusiness building.
The Etsu Nupe and Chairman of the Niger State Council of Conventional Rulers, Yahaya Abubakar, represented by means of the Emir of Agaie, Yusuf Nuhu, described the intervention as well timed and impactful, noting that it will considerably deal with meals lack of confidence, beef up livelihoods, and stimulate financial actions throughout rural communities.
