IN a bid to further boost agriculture, the Federal Government has made known its intention to help facilitate the cultivation of 20,000 to 100,000 hectares of new farmlands in every state in Nigeria.
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made this known in a statement.
According to Shehu, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, listed the step as part of measures to be undertaken by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to tackle the onslaught of COVID-19.
Ahmed stated this during the recently held National Food Security Council meeting at the State House, Abuja while outlining the measures introduced by the Buhari administration to check COVID-19 spread in the country.
In addition, the minister said that the Federal Government planned to support the off-take of agro-processing to create millions of direct and indirect job opportunities.
The statement also reads: “Dr Ahmed also briefed on the joint investment with the World Bank to provide intervention funds to states to improve health infrastructure.
“She [the minister] said to ease existing financial hardships among the people, the government is also coming up with low-interest loans for mechanics, tailors, artisans, petty traders and other informal business operators.”
Ahmed also noted that the Federal Government will equally provide support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to help them keep their employees and boost local manufacturing.
The minister explained that from the recently approved N2.3 trillion stimulus recommended by the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), there will be an expansion of broadband connectivity to boost job opportunities in the digital economy.
This fund will also cover for the planned expansion of the National Social Investment Programmes including the cost of increasing the number of beneficiaries of the N-Power Volunteers, the Market Moni and Trader Moni schemes.
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