Northwest Governors at the meeting on Agriculture in Kaduna
By Abdallah el-Kurebe
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state has said that closer collaboration among all stakeholders as well as regional integration were key ingredients for the expansion and sustenance of agricultural activities in the Northwest geo-political zone of the country.
Speaking during a high level meeting of the governors of the region on Agriculture action plan in Kaduna on Sunday, the governor said that working together would ensure states’ access to finance and improvement of infrastructure that would support the sector.
The meeting, coordinated by the Usman Bugaje-led Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP), had presentations from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Industry (BoI), Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Sassakawa Global 2000 and the Nigerian Export and Import (NEXIM) Bank.
Tambuwal said the Northwest had competitive advantage in key areas and would seek to exploit it for the development of the region and its people. “In Sokoto, we have advantage with cash crops like wheat, rice, tomato and onions. Others have such advantages with crops like ginger, cotton. maize and other cereal crops.
“So when we tap all these resources together, pool investment and promote avenues of access to finance, the sector will be transformed and its real value will come to the fore,” the Governor added.
Governors Tambuwal, Aminu Masari of Katsina, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, the host Governor, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, and deputy governor of Zamfara, Ibrahim Wakkala, attended the meeting.
They were joined by their Commissioners of Agriculture, Permanent Secretaries and Directors of Agricultural Services.
