VOTE SENATOR ABUBAKAR ATIKU , CON FOR KEBBI CENTRAL SENATORIAL CONSTITUENCY.
…Read what he did to revolutionise rice farming in Kebbi and Nigeria :-
Governor Bagudu’s agricultural revolution
Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu,CON and the Chairman of the APC Progressives Governors’ Forum became the Govenror of Kebbi State after his victory at the polls. He became the 8th Governor of Kebbi State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ), having assumed office on May 29, 2015. The Governor has a life-long commitment to public service and the proven leadership skills to make government work for the people of the State.
Since his assumption as the governor of Kebbi State, he has performed to the best of his ability to move Kebbi state to the next level using his God-given talents and the meager resources at his disposal to undertake myriad of projects that have direct or indirect value to the socio-economic well-being of the State. The administration of Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu is anchored on economic development and diversification. These had greatly resulted into increased food production, job creation, improved security, infrastructural development etc . All these had touched the lives of the people of the State positively, women and youths became more engaged and empowered by the government.
Categorically speaking, the administration of Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu had achieved landmark records in the agricultural sector more than any sector in the State. The name of Kebbi State is now synonymous with agriculture particularly rice production in Nigeria and the world at large.
Bagudu’s administration is anchored on economic development and diversification of resources . Since he came to power in 2015, he laid solid emphasis on agriculture, revolutionising farming particularly rice production which had significantly increased production not only in Kebbi State, but Nigeria as a whole. It has also helped in curbing the importation of rice into the country, as well as created jobs for thousands of our teeming youths and women with the springing up of big and small rice mills across the State. Many who are hitherto not farmers have embraced rice production , these include the youths , women and indeed civil servants. Kebbi’s name is now on the world map of rice production, courtesy of the unwavering support of Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, ‘ Sarkin Noman Nigeria ‘ and ‘ Mai Shinkafa Dan Bagudu ‘.
It is therefore not by accident that President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu as the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Rice and Wheat Production, as well as the Vice Chairman, National Food Security Council. The APC Governors also elected him as their Chairman, the Progressives Governors’ Forum.
Recently,the Economic Community of West Africa States, ECOWAS, lauded Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu for his unrelenting commitment to the development of agriculture particularly pastoralism to enhance livestock production.
Also, the APC Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at a Town Hall meeting with farmers in Minna, Niger State, announced the appointment of Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu to head his Agricultural Development Committee.
It is on record that Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, CON had facilitated the establishment of the Federal University of Agriculture, Zuru, with the hope that the new University would support the agricultural transformation of his administration, as well as the competitiveness of Nigeria’s agricultural sector especially at a time when the African Continental Free Trade Agreement had been signed .
Therefore, it is pertinent to note President Muhammad Buhari”s realization agenda of rural and urban transformation and economic development over the years had witnessed steady progress with the vigorous invaluable support from his indefatigable lieutenants . One of such resilient, hardworking and focused minded humble individual is the incumbent Governor of Kebbi State , Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who is equally the APC , Progressive Governors’ Forum Chairman, the political Alpha and Omega that gave one hundred per cent support to the success of FGN Anchor Borrowers Program.
Lest we forget in 2015, when President Muhammad Buhari won election with Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu under the same platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, top on the President’s agenda was the reduction of the economy’s over dependence on oil, increase rice production, create wealth , create job opportunities for our teeming women and youths, stop massive importation of rice and above all, make Nigeria food secured .
Kebbi has remained the unbeatable pacesetter and trailblazer in agriculture, especially rice production with the attendant multiplier effects for the citizens, as well as the economy of the state and that of Nigeria in general.
It is no doubt that Governor Bagudu’s colossal achievements in agriculture, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Anchor Borrowers’ Programme are geared towards improving rice production. This is so although the N15 billion scheme is owned and financed by the Federal Government as part of President Buharis economic diversification agenda to make Nigeria sustainably self-sufficient in food production, especially bolstering the rice value chain.
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The Anchor Borrowers Loan Programme (ABP), under the CBN, is a loan scheme to boost rice production that targeted 70,000 farmers. The scheme which had received the total backing of Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, even though a federal government’s scheme, had greatly assisted President Muhammadu Buhari’s diversification agenda to reduce over dependence on oil, as well as assisted the country in overcoming the hitherto economic recession and the stoppage of rice importation into the country.
The scheme, which was launched by President Buhari himself, in November 2015, in Kebbi, had achieved tremendous successes, with the political support of governor Bagudu. Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu’s administration supported the programme by also providing logistics support to the Anchor Borrowers Programme Committee to go out to all the 21 LGAs, to capture the bio-data of all genuine benefiting farmers, in order to ensure that only genuine small-holder farmers got the loan.
The Anchor Borrowers programme revolutionised rice farming in Kebbi to the extent that within one and a half year of launching the programme , Kebbi recorded the production of almost 2 million tonnes of rice from less than a million tonnes before the commencement of the programme. The state had since then, became a Jewel in the Sahara, receiving prominent visitors, ranging from Federal Government officials, to state governments top personnel who wanted to see what Kebbi ha d achieved in rice production.
The State became the darling of many states in Nigeria who became fascinated by Governor Atiku’s feat in rice production. The state received the first roll call from Mr Godwin Emifile, the CBN Governor and the then Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, as well as that of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, all made several visits to Kebbi rice fields, to ascertain the success in the rice revolution recorded in the state. The programme had also made many youths and civil servants who were hitherto not farmers to go back to the farms.
The state also witnessed the influx of both foreign and local investors. Rice processors established rice mills, both big and small. Modern rice mills like WACOT Rice Mills and LOLO rice mills established their bases in Kebbi State . Other medium or small ones abound in different parts of the state, such as the ones in Birnin Kebbi, Maiyama, Kamba, Dandi, Jega, Suru, Yauri, and Bunza, among others. It is on record that Oxfam, an international non-governmental organization came out to openly commend Kebbi State Government for allocating 10% of its budgetary allocation to agriculture, for over two years in a row. In 2016, N12.6 billion was allocated to agriculture and in 2017, a whopping N14 billion was further injected into the agricultural sector by Bagudu’ s government.
Other tangible achievements recorded in the agricultural sector of the state which have directly or indirectly resulted into multiplier effects on the economy include the acceptance of farming by many people who were hitherto not farmers before the inception of ABP ,.
Apart from the rice value chain, the State under Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu had also engaged farmers for the production of Wheat , Cassava, Soya beans, Sorghum , Cowpea among others in order to diversify to other value chains. . The State Government spent hundreds of millions of naira in providing fertilizer at affordable prices to farmers, quality seeds and other agricultural inputs to support farming.
As more and more investors find Kebbi State suitable for investment largely due to the conducive atmosphere and good leadership of Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Kebbi State Government entered into a number of MOUs with national and international organisations as well as governmental and non – governmental organizations . For example, Kebbi State Government signed an MOU with Lagos State Government establishing a partnership in rice production, off take, processing and marketing, signed MOU with IITA Ibadan to boost agricultural production and strengthen extension delivery services, signed MOU with OXFAM for the development of certain value chains such as Soya Beans,Rice and Animal production, signed MOU with BSS company for the development of Shea-Butter and processing Shea-Nut in the state for export.
Another MOU is the one with GB Foods for the production of tomatoes and tomato industry at Gafara which has already taken off in Ngaski Local Government. Another milestone recorded towards economic prosperity of both Kebbi and by extension Nigeria was the signing of MOU or collaboration with NNPC for the establishment of 14,000ha of Cassava Plantation for Biofuel and Ethanol production .
As part of efforts to improve fish production and empower fish farmers in the State, Kebbi State Government approved and disbursed 100 million naira to fish farmers recently under the Ministry of Animal Health, Husbandry and Fisheries.
YAHAYA SARKI,
Special Adviser (SA) Media to Kebbi State Governor
