7th October, 2017
The Jigawa Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources says it will partner with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), groups and individuals in efforts to develop agriculture in the state.
Alhaji Kabiru Ali, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, said this when he received some officials of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Dutse on Friday.
The team, which was led by IFAD National Chairman, Alhaji Muhammad Iddah, included some foreign investors.
Ali said that the state government had set up a committee that would provide certified seeds to farmers across the state so as to improve yield and ensure bumper harvests in the coming dry and rainy seasons.
He assured IFAD of the full support and cooperation of his ministry in all the programmes that would boost agricultural production and the farmers’ morale while uplifting the living standards of the people.
The commissioner said that the development of the agriculture sector was one of the cardinal objectives of the current state government, in line with the Federal Government’s change agenda.
In his remarks, Iddah commended the state government for the settlement of counterpart fund for IFAD programmes in nine local government areas of the state.
He said that Jigawa was the first state in the country to pay up its counterpart fund for IFAD projects and pledged that the programmes would be extended to cover all the 27 local government areas of the state.