Over 1,000 bloggers, under the aegis of the Bloggers and Vloggers Content Creators Association in Nigeria (BAVCCA) and Tinubu-Shettima Support Group, have commended the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, over the creation of 60,000 jobs in various rural economies across the country.
The bloggers and Tinubu-Shettima Support Group, in a joint statement on Sunday, signed by the Vice President of BAVCCA, Dr Adebayo Olugbenga, National Coordinator of Tinubu-Shettima Support Group, Alhaji Shehu Mohammed and the Secretary, Honourable Uche Okafor, expressed their support for Kyari’s transformative leadership and the significant progress made in the agricultural sector under his stewardship in the last one year.
The statement read: “It is with great pride and enthusiasm that we, the members of the Bloggers and Vloggers, Content Creators Association in Nigeria and the Tinubu-Shettima Support Group, gathered here today to pass a vote of confidence in the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari.
“In the past one year, Senator Kyari has demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to revolutionising agriculture in Nigeria and we are here to applaud his remarkable achievements and unwavering dedication to this crucial sector of our economy.”
The group pointed out that the agricultural sector under Kyari’s watch has injected an estimated value of N309 billion into the Nigerian economy, through the harvest of agricultural produce, in the last one year.
They commended the minister for the provision of rural infrastructure, such as the construction of 77.8km of asphalt roads, construction of 130.9 km of earthen roads, provision of 102 motorised and solar-powered boreholes and installation of 6,504 solar street lights, as well as generating over 60,000 jobs in various rural economies.
Enumerating some of the minister’s achievements, they said the ministry had launched dry season farming with cultivation of 118,657 hectares of wheat in 15 states in acceleration of all-year-round farming in a bid to ensure food and nutrition security.
They noted that at the end of dry season farming, one of the participating states, Jigawa, had produced 55,000 metric tonnes of wheat.
The Vice-President of BAVCCA disclosed that the Federal Government has also supported 107,429 wheat farmers with inputs such as fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, resulting in output of 474,628 metric tonnes.
The leadership of BAVCCA and the Tinubu-Shettima supporters observed that in response to presidential directive, the Ministry of Agriculture had released 42,000 metric tonnes of assorted food commodities made up of maize, millet, sorghum and garri, from the National Strategic Food Reserve to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for onward distribution to vulnerable Nigerians.
As part of measures to reduce escalating prices of food items in the markets, they expressed joy that the Federal Government procured and distributed 58,500 metric tonnes of milled rice to all states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to the statement, “To reduce malnutrition and stunted growth among children, the Federal Government had embarked on fortification of crops with Vitamin A micro-nutrient to enrich nutrition content and health value of food commodities.
“In response to persistent food inflation, the Federal Government has distributed 60,432 metric tonnes of improved seeds, 887,255MT seedlings, 138 numbers of value kits, 501,726 litres of agrochemicals, 62,328.5 metric tonnes of inorganic fertilisers, 1,000kg fungicide and 33,200 equipment to farmers across different value chains to enhance production.
“The ministry also received 2.15 million bags of fertiliser from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for distribution to farmers free of charge, adding that the distribution of the farm input has begun across the states.
“As part of measures to guarantee the protection and safety of farmers in their farmlands, there has been an improvement of farmland security with provision of additional resources to agro rangers and other security agencies.
“On livestock production and animal health, the Federal Government had in the last one year procured and distributed 14,056,467 doses of anthrax spore, foot and mouth diseases vaccines for risk-based vaccination exercise in 22 high-risk states across Nigeria.”
The groups further applauded the establishment of animal health centres and veterinary hospital, six micro earth dams and eight boreholes, 164 milk collection centres, eight cottage feed mills and seven livestock centres in the country.
On mechanisation, BAVCCA explained that the ministry had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with John Deere and Tata Africa to assemble in-country and supply 10,000 tractors with implements and accessories at 2,000 units yearly, as well as 100 units of combine harvesters to support production.
The groups explained that the Federal Government had partnered with Brazilian government with the sum of 995,000 Euros to provide mechanisation hubs across the federation.
They are confident that under the stewardship of Kyari, the agricultural sector will thrive, contributing to the country’s food security, economic prosperity and sustainable development.
“Kyari’s dedication, innovation and tireless efforts have truly set a new standard for agricultural leadership in Nigeria.
“We, the members of BAVCCA and Tinubu-Shettima Support Group, pledge our unwavering support and commitment to working alongside the minister to further strengthen the agricultural sector and realise our collective vision of a prosperous, food-secure and environmentally sustainable Nigeria,” the statement added.
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