Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang said his administration has so far invested N3.6 billion in the procurement of fertiliser and other farming inputs.
Mutfwang disclosed this during a New Year state broadcast yesterday in Jos.
The governor said the huge investment is aimed at boosting food production and other agricultural activities in the state.
“Our administration has so far invested over N3.6 billion in the purchase and distribution of fertilisers and other farming inputs to boost food production.
“A database of over 300,000 farmers has been collected and we have designed an online input distribution system to streamline resource allocation, which will be launched soon,”he said.
The governor noted that his administration had made significant improvement toward making Plateau the epicenter of agriculture in the country.
“We have reached advanced discussions with African Development Bank, AfDB, to onboard Plateau as a participating state in the development of the Special Agro Processing Zone.
“BARC Farms has been partially reactivated, with a private investor establishing feedlots; successful trials for wheat, barley and grasses such as Napier and Brachiaria were conducted, setting the stage for mass production in 2025.
“Kuru Livestock Centre is set to be redesigned and construction will commence in January.
“Through the Agricultural Services and Training Centres, ASTC, over 6,000 hectares of land have been cultivated to assist displaced communities in returning to their homes and livelihoods,” he said.
Mutfwang said arrangements have been concluded to upgrade Yakubu Gowon Airport to a cargo airport to facilitate the export of perishable crops and vegetables produced in our state.
He explained that his administration had also established Plateau Commodity Marketing Company, PLACOM, toward addressing challenges in commodity trading, warehousing and market information systems. (NAN)
