Food Security: I’m Going Back To Land – Bauchi Governor Declares
…Directs sales of assorted fertilizer (NPK, Urea) for N5000, N7000
BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BUACHI – Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has announced his resolve of going back to land in order to contribute to the food security objectives of his administration.
Governor Mohammed, who stated this on Saturday while launching the commencement of the sale of fertilizer for the 2020 wet season farming, directed all political appointees in the state and other government officials to do the same.
This as he also directed that assorted Fertilizer namely NPK 201010 and Urea should be sold at the rate of N5000 and N7000 per bag respectively and directly to the farmers especially the peasant ones.
Mohammed warned that anyone caught selling fertilizer above the approved price will be dealt in accordance with the law.
The Governor announced that his administration has procured a large quantity of assorted fertilizer which would be sold directly to the farmers by the Bauchi State Agricultural Supply Company (BASAC) to ensure that the commodities get to the nooks and crannies of the state.
Mohammed further said that his administration is committed to revamping the agricultural sector by introducing the organic farming system which he said is now the new order in the world more than way of food production.
He assured that very soon, investors in the Agriculture sector from Germany will arrive the State to start the organic agriculture, saying that the government will key into the system thus called on other farmers to join in the development.
The Governor urged the farmers not to panic because of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, assuring that government will mop up all the excesses of the farm produce in order to mitigate against food shortage.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Samaila Burga, said that the ceremony was just the normal official practice, adding that the sale of fertilizer and other farming components commenced since the setting of the wet season.
Burga also said that the government has released N200m for the purchase of items required to boost food production in the state, stressing that the focus is on attaining food sufficiency in the state.
The Commissioner said that within the last one year, government has ensured the release and payments of all counterpart funds as well as revamped the BASAC which had been moribund over the past years in order to boost the agricultural sector of the state.
Burga assured the Governor that the commodities will be closely monitored to ensure that only genuine farmers get the commodities directly from the BASAC office.
