Katsina Local Government chairmen have hailed the state Governor Malam Dikko Umar Radda for introducing mechanized farming across the state.
The Chairmen make the commendations in a tête-à-tête with a team of Journalists who are touring rural areas to assess the developmental projects executed in the state.
While commending Governor Malam Dikko Umar Radda, the chairman of Mai-adua Local Government, Mamman Salisu Na-Allahu, said mechanized farming has yielded positive results in his area.
Na-Allahu said, because of food sufficiency and Job opportunities in the agricultural farming sectors, migration of Youth to the Southern part of the country has drastically reduced. In addition to that, he said farmers are getting more money from their sweat and the government is getting more revenue from the agricultural tax.
The Chairman said, in their assessment, the improvement in farming alone will attract investors very shortly, especially in border areas.
In his remark, Mashi Local Government chairman Alhaji Salisu Kallah Dankada said, the youth in his area are busy now creating agricultural ventures because of the many job opportunities that have been opened up by the introduction of mechanized farming.
“Crime and theft have been reduced.” Dankada said, “Before now, criminal activities have been rampant here in Mashi Town and the rural areas. We are very much grateful to the Governors initiative.”
Dankada said each of the 34 Local government areas in the state is given 100 power tillers for its farmers, enough fertilizer, pesticides, and solar generators for use in irrigation farming.
According to him, 70 percent of the population in Katsina are farmers. But the area has not been given adequate attention.
The Mashi Chairman said, now with the foresight of the governor Malam Dikko Umar Radda who bagged Ph.D. in Agriculture, they are seeing a revolution in farming.
“Worth mentioning also is the empowerment of 1000 youth who were given 500 to 1 million naira to set up businesses for self-reliance.” He concluded.
Tribune Correspondent in Katsina said agricultural products are very much visible in Katsina markets probably because of the increase in agricultural activities as a result of the farming inputs supplied by the state government. Prices though remain high, still not affordable to poor people.
and then