Gombe to re-demarcate cattle routes

Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo made this known while flagging off the sale of government subsidized fertilizer and other farming implements for this year’s wet season farming in the state.Worried by the unending clashes between farmers and pastoralists over allegations of encroachment of farmlands and destruction of crops by grazing cattle, the governor said grazing reserves […]

Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo made this known while flagging off the sale of government subsidized fertilizer and other farming implements for this year’s wet season farming in the state.
Worried by the unending clashes between farmers and pastoralists over allegations of encroachment of farmlands and destruction of crops by grazing cattle, the governor said grazing reserves and livestock routes will be demarcated as permanent solution to farms encroachment.   
Dankwambo also said in an effort to revitalize the agricultural sector of the state and make it a source of dependable business for the people, his administration has commissioned consultants to work out bankable proposals for rice, sorghum and tomato value chain to enable farmers and investors benefit.
He said the poultry production unit of the state Ministry of Agriculture will be rehabilitated after many years of being redundant and unproductive and also expressed the commitment of his administration to the payment of all counterpart funds for agricultural projects.
He said for this year’s wet season farming alone, the state has procured 34 metric tons of assorted fertilizer valued at over N4 billion for sale to smallholder farmers in the state at subsidized rate to supplement the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) of the federal government. He said the fertilizer will be sold to farmers in the state at N3,000 per bag.
The governor also distributed 220 new tractors, 1,140 ox-drawn ploughs and assorted improved seeds to farmers and assured on making Gombe the centre of agricultural activities in the north-east zone, adding, “government would arrest and prosecute whoever is apprehended diverting fertilizer meant for farmers in the state.”
He said the state government is collaborating with the Bank of Industry to provide a loan of over N510 million to farmers in the state under its entrepreneurship scheme aimed at stimulating agro-based industries in order to improve the economy and the livelihood of the people.
He said under the 2013 national paddy rice production programme, farmers in the state have produced additional 30,000 tons of rice, adding that the state government has assisted dry season farmers with 600 metric tons of fertilizer and 500 units of water pumps at subsidized rates in addition to free tractor service for land preparation and cultivation.
 Some of the farmers that spoke to Daily Trust expressed satisfaction with the sales of fertilizer and other farming implements, saying the commodity came at the right time, when the rainy season was picking up in the state.
 Alhaji Umar Waziri from Kaltungo, Adamu Magaji Nahuta also from Kaltungo,  Sabo Bangado from Kumo and Zainab Salihu from Akko local government said at different interviews that they got two bags of fertilizer each, seeds and other farming implements. Most of the beneficiaries said this is their first time of buying fertilizer at subsidized rate.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Dr. Bukar Tijjani, said, “There are investors who are setting up major processing factories like the Dangote tomato factory in Kano, while the moribund cotton ginnery was also coming up. These are all part of the initiatives of this administration and what President Jonathan has done to support agriculture, small, medium and large holder farmers.”
Dr. Tijjani said production of local and improved rice by smallholder farmers in the country has reached over 2 million metric tons, adding, that “what we are doing now is that we are aggressively looking at how we can get the other half about 2.3 2.5 of improved long grain Caroline rice. We started this during the dry season which started late November up to March, April and May.
“Right now as I am talking to you, 264,000 farmers were supported with 3 bags of fertilizers each and half of this support came directly from President Jonathan’s approval that farmers pay half without asking any state government support. State governments are supporting the rainy season farming,” he said.