Bauchi State government has given assurances that it will increase the budget allocation to the agricultural sector in order to improve agricultural activities in the state.
The programme manager of Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP), Alhaji Abubakar Jafaru Illelah, gave the assurance during an advocacy visit by Small Scale Women Farmers Association of Nigeria (SWOFON), Bauchi State chapter and state budget committee on Agriculture in his office, yesterday.
The state government allocated the sum of N5.4 billion for the agricultural sector representing 2.5 percent of the total budget of N202 Billion. N30.5 billion was budgeted for the health sector, representing 15.08 percent of the budget, while the education sector got N26.6 billion representing 13 percent of the total budget.
Alhaji Abubakar Jafar said that the contributions of women farmers in the state cannot be over-emphasized, hence they should be carried along in all agricultural activities in the state.
He also said when the Agricultural Trust Fund is fully functional in the state, more funds will be injected into the agricultural sector which will address challenges women farmers face in agriculture.
Ilelah said that BSADP is working in collaboration with National Agency for Food Administration, Drugs and Control (NAFDAC) and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to checkmate the menace of fake and adulterated sub-standard agro-chemicals which has become a source of concern for farmers in the state.
He urged women farmers and other farmers in the state to explore other technological methods of producing fertiliser locally, instead of waiting for the state government to launch the sale of the product, pointing out that this will eliminate problems of late planting and harvest by farmers in the state.
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