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By Emmanuel Adeleke
In preparation for the second phase of dry season farming, the Federal Government has announced that it is making efforts to modify farmers’ databases to get rid of “political farmers.”
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this on Wednesday, during the maiden press briefing organised by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
According to him, only genuine farmers will benefit from government-subsidised interventions.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had earlier announced that a lot of agricultural policies meant for farmers were enjoyed by ‘political farmers,” persons linked to politicians who were not real farmers.
In 2023, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security launched the first phase of dry season farming under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) project. The first phase focused on 15 wheat-growing states.
Kyari said following a key evaluation of the first phase of dry season farming, measures have been taken to ensure the success of the subsequent phase.
He said 150,000 hectares of rice would be cultivated during the second phase, adding that 300,000 genuine farmers are targeted for this.
He stressed that the farmers would benefit from the government’s subsidised interventions such as fertilizers, herbicides and micronutrients among others.
The minister said the farmers will get three bags of agro-inputs for free after purchasing half bags.
He added that 30,000 hectares of maize would be cultivated across the 36 states of the federation, stressing that some state governors have shown interest in the scheme.