….Niger govt signs agreement with AFAN on dry season farming
ASHENEWS reports that the Niger state government has agreed with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) ahead of this year’s dry season farming.
The MoU, signed at the government house on Tuesday is for 35,000 farmers who will use their own land and water resources around them while the state government gives them inputs worth N30 billion which is an average of N750,000 to N800,000 per farmer.
Speaking during the event, the Niger state governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago said that the state government has gotten investment worth $5 billion with a major focus on agricultural mechanization.
He said that the state government will in January 2024 receive 300 tractors for farmers in the state.
Bago noted that the state government was poised to transition from subsistence to mechanized farming.
He assured farmers that the state government was committed to securing their farmlands and all arable lands against bandits and other criminals.
He further urged AFAN to show total commitment from AFAN for the agreement to achieve the desired result.
On his part, the Chairman, Niger Food Security Systems and Logistics Company Limited, Sammy Adigun said that the state government has set a target to cultivate 550,000 hectares with a proposed harvest quota of three million tons
Our average yield in Niger is between five and six tons per hectare.
According to the agreement, the state Government will get back its money from the produce and 40% ratio of the profit will go to the farmers while the government will take the remaining 60% ratio.
Also speaking, the AFAN Chairman, Shehu Galadima lauded the initiative and assured the state government that the agreement would bring prosperity to the state.
