By Uche Onyeali
Agriculture in Adamawa State has received a fresh boost as Abdurrahman Bashir Haske Women and Youth Forum, ABHWYF, has flagged off the distribution of free fertilizers and other essential farm inputs to famers, mostly the youths and women in agriculture, across the 21 local government areas of the state.
A statement signed by ABHWYF Media coordinator, Abdul Gaffar Ahmed, said the distribution, which is the initiative of businessman and philanthropist, Abdulrahman Haske, is being spearheaded by a youth leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Youth in Adamwa State, Hon. Abubakar Baba Tsoho, who assured that the initiative would reach all farmers across all local government areas in the state.
The flag-off ceremony, which took place at the Lamido Zubairu Hall in Yola South Local Government Area and was witnessed by a large turnout of women and the youth from all parts of the state, will cover distribution of free agric inputs within Adamawa Central zone, comprising Yola South, Yola North, Girei and Fufore LGAs in the first phase of the exercise before extending to other LGAs of the state.
In their opening remarks, Hon. Tsoho and the acting state women leader of the party, Hon. Gloria Istifanus, commended Haske Foundation for the generous gesture while urging beneficiaries of the free agricultural inputs to ensure appropriate application of the items on their crops to boost yield and improve their livelihood.
The party leaders also expressed appreciation to Haske for working closely with party stakeholders to ensure an inclusive distribution process towards ensuring the overall development of agriculture sector in Adamawa and environs.
“This gesture is coming at a crucial moment when Nigeria is facing rising food prices and insecurity that has disrupted farming in many communities across the country. This then requires intentional investment in farming and agriculture at the grassroots.
“Hence, initiative such as the free agric inputs distributions in the Adamawa by ABHWYF, which we are currently witnessing is considered as a way of not only empowering the farmers but also strengthening food supply chain and reducing poverty across Adamawa State and Nigeria as a whole,” Tsoho said.
Described as marking the first pace of far-reaching empowerment initiative in the state, some of the women leaders expressed their heartfelt excitement over the distribution of the fertilizers and other essential farm inputs, saying the items came at the right time.
The beneficiaries, mostly youth and women, also expressed gratitude for the support with many describing the intervention as timely, noting that the raining season is already in full swing.
They commended the APC leadership for youth inclusivity in the party structure, which, they said, will enable the teaming youth to contribute their quota to the betterment of Adamawa and Nigeria as a whole.
