Farmers in Gombe State have expressed concerns about the ‘non distribution’ of 2,000 tonnes of fertiliser donated by the federal government to the state alleging that the commodity is nowhere to be found.
The state governor, Inuwa Yahaya, had recently announced the donation of fertiliser by the federal government for distribution to the state farmers free of charge but farmers claim they have not received it.
One of the farmers in an interview with journalists, Ayuba Ali from Billiri local government stated that the fertiliser would have empowered peasant farmers to boost food production and increase farmers’ income if distributed.
Another farmer, Umar Hamisu, a sorghum and wheat farmer in Nafada local government lamented that the 2024 season was the worst for him as he could not afford to purchase farming inputs due to the economic situation in the country coupled with inflation.
“We heard that President Tinubu has donated fertilisers for distribution to farmers in the state free of charge but we did not see anything in our villages,” he alleged.
A female farmer from Dadin Kowa community, Esther Bitrus, who disclosed that she grows rice and maize said that fertiliser was sold to farmers at N25,000 adding that she did not get or hear anyone that collected that of the federal government.
While Sarah Yakubu, another woman farmer, revealed that she had not gotten the federal government’s fertilisers decrying that “if the donation would be distributed to farmers in Kano and Nasarawa States at no cost, Gombe farmers also deserved it”.
They appealed to the state government to distribute the free fertilisers provided by the federal government to farmers across the state to enable those into dry season farming to make use of it.
However, Dr Barnabas Malle, commissioner of agriculture, countered that the fertilisers were distributed to farmers through cooperative societies and monitored by security agents.
He stated that the fertilisers sold was not the federal government’s donation but the one procured by Governor Inuwa Yahaya adding that it was sold at a subsidised price of N22,000 per bag.
