By Juliet Jacob Ochenje
As part of efforts to ensure attainment of food and nutrition security, employment generation and wealth creation for Nigerians, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, via the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agropocket (NAGS-AP), has commenced the distribution of subsidised farm inputs to small holder farmers across the North Western States.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony held at Bunkure Local Government Area, Kano State, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by his Deputy, Comrade Aminu Abdussalem, stated that NAGS-AP was being implemented through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase One (ATASP-1) of the Federal Government, with funding by African Development Bank, as a Pilot phase to pave way for successful implementation of the forthcoming Policy Based Operation (PBO).
PBO, he stated, is a Sector Budget Support (SBS) operation prepared under the African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF) and funded through a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB). It is to be mplemented across the 36 states of the Federation and FCT for a period of two years beginning from 2023.
He added that the objective of NAGS-AP was synonymous with the objectives of ATASP-1, which include ensuring attainment of food and nutrition security, contributing to employment generation and wealth creation of the targeted beneficiaries along rice, sorghum and cassava value chains on sustainable basis, as well as attracting private sector investments in agriculture.
In his keynote address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Ernest Afolabi Umakhihe, said the project would boost agricultural production and guarantee access to quality agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, whose distribution is being flagged off.
60,000 farmers in the five ATASP-1 5 States will be supported with highly subsidised inputs to help increase their production level and achieve economic well-being, he stated, adding that the federal government is committed to paying 80% of the total cost of the input package, while each participating farmer is expected to pay the 20% balance for the redemption of his/her inputs at the Redemption Centre.
Dr. Umakhihe added that in order to increase the level of transparency, accountability and efficiency in the input delivery process, an ICT platform known as the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NAGS & AP), will be used by the government for the delivery of the inputs to farmers in this exercise and in the future.
