Bauchi State government has reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining agricultural policy initiatives aimed at achieving self-sufficiency, self-reliance and economic development in the state.
The commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Ilyasu Aliyu Gital, disclosed this during a live phone-in programme, ‘The Score Card’, organised by the Ministry of Information and Communication in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget and Multilateral Coordination monitored by our correspondent.
Gital revealed that of the ongoing 10,000 state recruitment target, the agricultural sector had been allocated 1,000 slots to strengthen manpower and improve the management of personnel.
While highlighting key achievements, the Commissioner said the government has:l purchased 80 tractors to enhance mechanized farming, trained 1,000 unemployed youths in various agricultural skills and distributed starter packs and allocated 54,000 hectares of land at the Lame-Burra Game Reserve to Tiamin Rice Mill to boost rice production.
He added that the state government also raised and distributed 25,000 tree crop seedlings to communities for orchards, shelterbelts, and woodlots to improve nutrition, income, and environmental sustainability.
On fertiliser, Gital disclosed that the government approved the purchase of 23,809 metric tons of liquid fertilizer worth about N1 billion, to complement the distribution of conventional inorganic fertilizers at 50% subsidy.
He, however, apologised to farmers for the delay in distribution, assuring that measures are being taken to address future challenges.
The commissioner further announced that the state government, in partnership with OCP Africa Morocco, has signed a three-year soil mapping and testing project to advance food sufficiency across the state.
Gital said the state plans to construct new dams and boreholes to expand irrigation, support dry-season farming, and mitigate the impact of seasonal rain-fed agriculture on food security.
