From HASSAN JIRGI Damaturu
Yobe State government has commenced the free distribution of agricultural empowerment equipment and implements recently launched in Damaturu to beneficiaries in Zone A.
The distribution is scheduled to be carried out in three phases in the three senatorial zones.
A statement signed by the Director of Press and Media Affairs to the governor, Mamman Mohammed, stated that beneficiaries were drawn from each political ward in every local government to provide equal opportunities to all.
It added that thorough profiling was conducted to ensure that only genuine farmers who are actively engaged in agriculture benefit from the exercise to improve agricultural production for food sufficiency and security.
The statement added that the state government procured 100 tractors, 300 sets of ox-drawn ploughs, 1,349 hand push planters, 889 hand push plough machines, 4,202 solar powered irrigation water pumps, 5,349 goats, 590 hand push tillers, 72,000 bags of fertilizer, and assorted seeds among others.
Governor Mai Mala Buni has warned against selling of the implements, directing security operatives to arrest anyone cross the borders with the equipment.
“We must have value for our money, the equipment must be used here to guarantee food sufficiency, food security and promote economic prosperity through agriculture,” he said.
