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DJUlV SUrIi Thursday, August 16, 2012
N1bn agric loan won't be burden to Borno -Commissioner <
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Commissione r fo r tult UI~ AJhljl UlmaD Zlionah, uJd that the NI billion IOlu befit" acassed by the slate go' Ullment undel' the Agrlcllllar:alisu C~l t GUlnnlee Sc:bmn (/\CGS), or t be FelIe",! Go" ~men l ,rould DOt put the SUlle In I ny fiosncW bunl !n. Zannah 'puke wilh Dully SUfi in Ma:=reo.:c lily. E.n:l!Tpl.I: wl ~:i:it;me ~ and powrty We have: dun! a lot III Ihc agncullUl'e sector to add \'Blue 10 the lives of our pcopJc especially in the <'rbe to use agnculiure as a platform for job .creation. We have disuibuled variety of ,,:cdlings like: groundnuts, Sorghum. miUus and early maturity maize. Govemmenl lJUrthased all the stock ofmitlct al the Chad D&!Im Development Agency early this )'tar. We have fulcra! intoan IgIl!Cmcnl with an American fmn to rehabilitate: inigauon sites; two in each of the smalorial zones.
Government is spending N2 billion on this proja:t. The (J"xluga irrigalJOn scheme has bcm devclop!d and many oLhcn in Ule stale.. The: go\'~mt.,. constituted an agricultul'1l.1 tIansfomlaito 1 .cam comprising technocrats, UniVeJ1I~ lee III ~ and farmers. TIle govern· ment WI! 10) rowhs for trailling It Sa~ Farm in Adami N3 State:. Some were also sent 10 11wJand I Id th~ were pIaffi 10 send oth-ers to Egypt :iome youths ill': 3lso being trained In j:OI :ltry all limed I I crealing em~:m.l.ll ILI1 J reduction of pc>\lCrty
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Actually, lOfl1: cannot radly quantify the cost of the In.IfUng. For instance that of
Salxn FI'.Im IV" an internal IIJTllf\gcment by
'7J:;.:::"..acd. bouttheN60 O1Il1ion ofd lC fann. That for training
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0WI'IC:f
. 1m courses
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in Thailand an:
aboulthtee to siA moolhs. The University of is an important component of our asricuItund Thailand is organizing .this lraining in con· ~olution. junctiol1 with the Nigerian Embassy IIld Wi: We have engaged the services of I consult· an: paying the money din:ctly to the Wlivcrsi· ant talook 11 tlie·bc:st way we can market our ty. Government Ilso procurtd implements agric produCLS monier not todiscowage farmsuch as ploughs. trailers.. ilI'1O'N3 and rice milb ers when prices fai l at harvest pc:riod. In in Thailand and Egypt bcause we feel lfull Nigeria today, most fanners are cxpcric:ncing Egyptian leCbnology is also good like the ~-harvest losses due to a nwnbc:r of reasons Including lack of stonge facilitics and immeexpedaIion diale market for the perishable products. The Cl.pectaUon first is to cn:ate employ· Government is trying 10 sec if we can estabmenl for OW' people and the farming families. lish SOllie factonc:s ..... ~ these agricullurll lrrig.'ltKm is I very expensive projecl and that prodocts can be procc'lSed for usc. actuaJly c:xplained why the system has been Very soon, we shall visit India and we havt abandoned in the past. But when • govern. also been invited ill EgypI to sec onion dairy rnent i1: desirous of ~ employment and ~ onion can be kqJt: for a long lime. So addressing poverty in an environmenl w~ .....e can usc the geographical location ofBomo the major nalure's gift is anble land. then bordering three AJiican nations of Chad, oothing is too big to be 53CriflCl:d. Again, goy. Nig.::r and Cameroon as an advantage to ernment should be fOf the good of the people advance the exportation proposal. and the good of the people is eruployment, Nl ~ ogric loan, ...mme interest? food, quality health facilities and education. Then: an: challcogc:s but since we have This is wby govemrnent is more concern I'C'i(llvcd to usc the sector to drive the agenda about the irrigation project and other invest· of the govemmenl. then no challenges can mmts in the agricuIluR:. FOf us., the irrigation weigh us down fi'um achieving ow set goal. The Igrit tnwfonnation team will look into sc::rw:s I doubJe...edge purpose IItion fOf the youth and farming fami ies and variOIlS SCCICIB of agric and I believe very provision of abundant foodstuffs to adili"css much Ihcsc challenges will be addressed .....ith· in short time. The govanor has handed over sill 1fi/ICC vthitles 10 the team to commence its ' ''We are trying 10~()lD" local challenge wO<X. l1lld d)Cl1 ...."hen we achieve sutrICiellty in Ir:nn Then: is also the issue ofthosc ofus in gov. of food p-oduction, we then pn:x::ced 10 pursue cmmc:nt driving dte Igenda. The governor had our c;l[ponation proposal Last yur. the prices rq:.calcdly tokl us thai we should develop of onions .....ent up Ind our farmers decided to iIItercst and engage in fanning. Leadmhip UlY!:Sl heavily in the productlOD of onion. oughl to be by example and the only way to Unfortunately, the prioes crashed this year show to the people that thcgo\"CI'TUTICn1 is seri· such that I bag that sold for N8,OOO came ous about this agnc thing is fOf all us to get do ....T1 to ber....'t'e!I N600 and N800 this year. involved. But then, the governor, in his wisdom to TIle House of A.5scmbly has Ipproved the erJIXlUfllgc the fanners decided to t'ouy ofT the NI billion Igriculcura1 facility initiated by the orrio~ at die cost of N2. 000. n le bags of Federal Govemmenl How can we misrnao-onions .....ere distributed 10 schools for the gov- Ige the loan7 The 10m is meant for fanners ernment feeding system. From this foregoing, and the state guvernmenl will pay the intcteSl you can WldemHnd that the rn:uiI:C'I OUI there II is like an intercst· free loan. The loan is
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unda-Ihe ACGS of the FedaaI Govemtrtent.. II is being gumtllced by the Cental Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and faciliwcd by I comrner· cial bank. AJllile stalCS except Barno have bcoc:fited from Ibis facility. Very soon, we are going to give ilto our fannen; especially cassava growtB. Intrrcslin~ly, Bomo is one of the cassava grower stales ID Nigeria and our cassava docs not have chemical conlCnL With alllhc:se gov. cmment efforts. I think a Bomo man has no business to be poor as the: gnvemor often says.
KRPC :TC?~i_c wa~~e report:
,
rna list escapes being lynched ore of my ICCUSICIS called me. telling me on view to the KRPC. But I said I .....ould not phone that die IXlI1lIl'11JIl.ty leader bad denied an release my ~ to anybody. When I got aspcd of the stClly I published, saying thai he there, they told me: that they had concluded dial did not spc:aIc 10 me on the issue. I was going to talk with d..:: Public Relations '11e insisted thai if I have the conununity Manager of the K.RPC so that I ooukS clarify ie::ldefon tape I should bring the ~ inlcr' die aspca the COOlIOOI'1ity leader was denying.
From NOAtj BIlE.
!~., .~ , ., "'~'" in the
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village had
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alleged \C'-uc ~1 sic dtmpcd near their homes and fan1\landt,. He added dill 1m acc;uscn tried to roroe bUn 10 play dte R'C(rdcd voice of Venma buI he refused. adding hat as.soon as he was pointed Ill. IS ~;:r'e youths surged forward to
attack-him. '1 did a re.llua story. following series of rqxx1S I did (.n the allr:gcd !oxic waste ~ by KJUIC ill I lido ronvnunity of KaWna mdrOpOli5.. But ·Jn this fateful day, I was invito ed 10 KRI'C 10.
an assignrTlQ1l , ~-Pl.YI~Y'
"Just as we wen: t.11king, the cOfT1rnunity leader came, l1lld behind me, I saw O\'ef IS hoodlums or thugs and they .....ere spcakin~ in Hausa that if they could identify me. tney \t."OUld deal with me today. Then the communi' ty leader moved for.....ard from the hoodlums and asked if J h3d come 10 !be area. 'Vnfortunaldy, ow ~ Ic:adc:r just pointed at me to the c:ommunity Ic:adef in the midsa of these aggressive looking boys. I then summoned COUI'1Ige to ask the community leader if he knew me. He admitted that he knew ow:. cval when he earlier denied thai he didn't know me buI d\al he neva bad 8Jly .....001 wi dl me and d\al he only Mndcd me O\W to a soldier to take me to the site of the waste dUllIp on that day to speak with me. " He even asked me to play the cassette for him but I refuscd. When they saw that die si1lJ. alion was becoming ten<lC, they advised that I sbouklleave thepJacc irnmediatcly. l.utkily for me, Illy BUft:au OUerwas around. he drove nle 10 a.safer distance ..t handed O\'C'" his car to me to drivt myself a.....ay rompletely Iiom the place. If I had stayed longer than necessary, I would have bcco lynched by those boys ~ ~ .situ:mon was .~~ more