In pursuit of the Presidency’s transformation agenda to upscale the welfare of small-holder and rural farmers, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has flagged-off the emergency mechanization intervention support services for Zamfara Farmers.
The Private Sector Driven Agricultural Mechanization Programme (PSDAMP) was flagged off in Gusau with 20 tractors, 20 power tillers and various harvest and post harvest equipments, which will be deployed across Zamfara through the State chapter of the Tractor Owners and Operators Association (TOOAN).
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Adesina disclosed that the ₦193 million needed to provide the services to the farmers will be covered fully by the Presidency through the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme till the end of the Dry season and the next wet season production.
The programme which is being funded under the present administration’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda will be set-up in four senatorial zones to provide farmers with up to 50% discount of equipment hiring services.
The Zamfara intervention is set to mechanize 8,000 hectares of land, add 32,000 metric tons of food at four metric tons per hectare and create 1,000 direct jobs for the unemployed. In his words, “agriculture and rural development are critical to the growth of Nigeria’s economy and must be at the forefront of the Transformation Agenda.”
According to Adesina, over ₦50 billion is set to be expended to establish 118 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHE) across Nigeria with 6,000 tractors, 15,000 power tillers and various harvest and post harvest equipment between the year 2014 and 2016, in order to provide farmers with affordable mechanization services.