The Federal Government on Saturday, restated its commitment to agriculture growth, following the approval of N13 billion as intervention fund for pest control in 12 northern states.
The government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development noted that the approval was aimed to reduce the effects of COVID-19 on the nation’s food sector.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Alhaji Muhammad Nanono, who
made the disclosure in a statement issued on Saturday, said that the intervention fund was to ensure uninterrupted activities during the 2020 farming season in the states.
The 12 `frontline’ states, to benefit from the fund are Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe and Borno States.
The Minister, explained that the fund would also be used to control trans-boundary pests and minimise the impact of COVID – 19 as well as guarantee nutritional and national food security.
According to him, government also perform the flag-off of the 2020 dry season control of trans-boundary migratory birds for the 12 frontline northern states at the Birnin Kebbi International Airport in Kebbi .
Nanono pointed that the flag-off was performed in Kebbi because of the state’s extensive agricultural activities.
He noted that government was mindful of reports of desert locust outbreaks in East Africa and the Middle East with the possibility of a spillover of locust swarms into West Africa and Nigeria. “The choice of Kebbi State for the flag off is deliberate, in view of the extensive agricultural activities in the state and the immense cooperation and collaboration of the state government in the implementation of agricultural interventions over the years,” Nanono said.
