Yobe’s agriculture empowerment worthy of emulation – Commissioner
Yobe’s agriculture empowerment worthy of emulation – Commissioner
The Agriculture Empowerment Programme initiated by Gov. Mai Mala Buni of Yobe led administration has been identified as a mode, and worthy of emulation by other states.
Alhaji Ali Goniri, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu on Monday.
VMT NEWS reports that Goniri spoke on the achievements of the ministry between 2023 and 2025.
He said the programme, which gulped over N17 billion in 2024, empowered 5,340 farmers drawn from 178 electoral wards of the state.
Goniri listed farm inputs distributed to farmers under the scheme to include 100 Zoom Lion tractors, 300 Ox-drawn plough, 590 hand-push tillers, 4,202 solar-powered irrigation pumps and 72,000 bags of fertiliser.
The commissioner said within the period under review, four sesame grading and processing factories were completed in Damaturu, Nguri, Machina and Potiskum.
He said the state in collaboration with the Federal Government had established Livestock Development Centres in Jakusko-Nasari, Gurjaja, and Badegana, where state-of-the-art facilities were provided for animal production.
Goniri said more than 2,000 hectares of land were acquired by the state for Lava Irrigation Scheme to cultivate wheat, rice and vegetables in Bursari Local Government Area.
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The commissioner said the state was rehabilitating Agriculture Development Programmes’s (ADP) headquarters in Damaturu and five Zonal offices in Buni Yadi, Geidam, Nguru, Potiskum and Gashua.
He said 10 IMC double cabin four wheel drive vehicles were purchased for supervisors, and 200 motorcycles for extension workers across the state.
Goniri said the state government deliberately constructed the Muhammadu Buhari Cargo Airport to aid transportation of diary products and farm produce, including gum Arabic, sesame, cowpea and groundnut.
The commissioner, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government to support Yobe in irrigation, pledging the state’s readiness to collaborate with individuals and groups to enhance agriculture.
