Tuesday, Oclobel' 25, lOU
THJSOAY, Vol, 16, No. 6028, Pagoe 2S
EATURES Using Mechanised Agriculture to Achieve Food Secmity At the time many farmers in the states are sL-il1battling with subsistence farmil1g, Bauchi State Government believes that to adlieve food security and sustel1allce, tllere is the need to go il1to Illechanised agriculture. As .a result, the state has deployed massive lI1achilleries as well as training of manpower to achieve the objective. Segun Awofadeji writes II Pfe ;and post ;!KIcpeodenl. 3~rku l l\l rc "as the m ~i n5,ay
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of the 113UOn e f cooomy C\~n ~ rore the d iscQ\'cry o f oi l. Va rious militm:' admi nislr:llions in Ihe past initi3ted differe nt (onn! ·)f agricultu ral !-Chcmct all in a bid to boost
food prot! uct ioll . Genernl Olu!cgun Ob3$lnjo inlrOOuc:d
('peratifim fecd lhe nation (O PFN). Pre~i d en l S hehu Sha!arl (;a' h it' ned 0 It a new :lgn c lli turn i ~che nlC Ila med Gree n Rc\o lulio n. forme m ililary pre~ i tlent IbrJhi m Badamosi
Bat:l"!i!;da n lRt'1!lltitalised til!! Directoratf! of food. Roads and Rur.tl In fms troc turc ( DFRR I). all \\ith a vic'''' to tralls fo mling ru ~1
ag ricull\u'I! .\l1l hese i u i t ia l i,·t~. though weli lhought out halo! r)(lt In1llslnlcti into n ~Ul'CeH story I'~ hunger simiooms. the <;eCtor II hlc h .. h IU ld lI ttr:!CI better 3ltcnl ion looay Sllffe~ neglect il$ lt~~ fur.d 'S oodgeleU for agricu ltuml aclivilies yellr~ ' v \',hile . ' lest rura l farm ' r! h;l\e ab:1Od" naI f3 mli u1'! because of iU:lclequnle ~u ppl y and 31 limes t()(al l1()n-a\";I ilability of ag ri c"lturo! inpu ts. lO lsequenlly. n cou nt ry like Nigeri a. wh ic h ~ hould be self-Slim len! in food prOOuction. i~ loday a dumping gmulid r"r at! r l1TIlS of fore ign food prod uclion. It wou ltl reclilled Ihal dun n).! the farmi nf!. season last year in' Bauch i SI:!IC' a commiS5i')r t"r fOf alricul l\.I~ lost his job ~ause ferl i l i<~r. a nq jor (:I,ming in[JII1 1."OUid nol l'1!ach Ihe (arme rs whoTn Ihe prntluci '~re mennt for. Incidenlally Ba, chi Siaic is lak ill! agriculture J;e.riou~. ACt"OrUi ng \II Govt rnor I ~II Yuguda. ~ agriClihu re cons lillllcs Ihe mllj(lf sector Ihrt employs a grenler p:rce.nlage u r our peopiC' and for 111:10) . II-e onl y major 50urtt C!f ilK"omc:. During ou r 1i~1 lelln in office lIe promi"-tJ 10 rev ll:! l i~ I!.g riClilture by en~lIri n g th:1I oor f mnen benefil from agricu lmr.d subsidies orrer~ by H(wemme m a~ well as ea~y acce..\S IQ agl iculturnl inputs and c-retJ il fa j !ilies:' The <poIllShl (If 'he present :KImm islration in lhe nexl fuur rea~ . acemt.ling II ' Yug uda wou ld be focused on boosling ma: hanised ug riclll ul1ll proclice in :lchieving food security as one of major (lgend I of ""Ir. Pre~iden l. And because (lr his passion fur the deve\orment of the ngriculturnl seclor. on ass ump' lion of office in 20111. GOI'emor Yuguda took :I g iant move in Ihat sector by ensur ing food sec1!rity in Bauchi Siale as pan of his m,mdot!:". The GOI'emmelll during lhe. pe riod und er rel'iew purchasetl 30 . 000 me lric l'lnS of !lIe commodity at the. cost or N 2. 1 ~ 9 . I OO ,OOO .0l1 fo r the 2008/2009V farming season . "ddi ti(lnrtl 44, 200 mc:tric luns were ordered. while. gOI'ernme nl is promoting lhe usc of organic reni\ iscr in addition 10 Ihe 25S subllid ies t y the f--edtral Governmc:nt. The Slale gol"
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-Good hanTSt._ II-;Ih ITfmuu.utdfann;'.g. rl'f!1?
C"rI"" ~ ~ food
em ment the n further subsidised fenlliser by 40 per cent and was offeml at a cost o fV' Nl. 500 per bag. To ensu re th:!1 Ihe comn lodi ty l'1!ac hed the famlers at the grassroots. 70 per cenl of the commodi ty was aJloc-aled 10 ward :lOd local governmenl areas. Plans are under way by the r--edernl GOvcrnment lo rel.Cti val t' the MisauV Traclor Training School IIm.l the tmining o r lractor .operations TheV Daro7.cl Farm Traming Instilule was renclil1llcd and re!'1~ \0 ils formc: r sclf. In order 10 boost agriCliltu ml act il'i~ ties inlhe stale. 2J , Iracton were purchased 31 Ux: cost of N72. 144 . !'i70.UO rrom the f--edtnl l GoI'(' rn m!:' nl. Also. 1.200 power lillers Ilere rurchasetl nllhe cost orY Nl. 159 . 100.000 from Sleyr I Nig) Ltd .• OUI of ",'hie h 50 we I"(' aliocaleU lO each of the local governme nt art'll in Ihe SI:lIe. About 20 broken-down ' nlC·. 101"5 were al<o refurbished . whi le lhe ahandonal 4 . OOOV mel~ ric lon5 grai ns Silos projecl a 11010 W IIS CQ mp leled al 11x: cost orY N I~O t- lilliull . as we ll as Ihe construclion or 111"0 new ones in V Dauchi and Ala re. V V Government nlso sold 16, 00 me tric Ions of grains 10 mel1lbe rs of Ihe public at subsidised ra les to cushion Ihe effecl~ o r root! K arei ly. To reduC'e farnlerfgnzer connicl5 10 the barest nl inimum in Ihe st3le , GOI'erntnent embarked on Ihe rt'habilitalion of gnl t ing rescr.'es localed al Udoubo, YaUiare . and JilT in Gamawa. Daral o a,ldTafawll Dalewa Loca l Government Areas respectively. Similtlrly. pllUl5 are. underway 10 del'e lop 2.oook.nV of stoc k mUles aclOS.'; the Slale . The phase Ol\e will 500n commence althe cost o f N128million . while govenmtenl is also constructing six ~"(' Ierinary elinia al Dass. V Alk3leri, Dambam. Ganjuwa. lias 3nd Zaki
NlMASA . Cali I'd all page 24 w ·==m-
Ad viser wlr(l Muld advise the Di rector General and Executive ma.nage.nent on the law and ru les guiding the goy. ernment service'. hu also become. a benerJCiary of iUq,alilies and nagr.ant abuse of the pttblic service rules and NUoiIASA ' condi tions of ~rice. , foresaw thaI the elongation of the Egbadon's te.nTl1wm DOC only make nonsense (If lhe government directives bJ I also destroy the morals of officen and possibly killlhli J" iril and creative potentials or han:! working staffs who Me. in the legal department. It :iliu said it will lay a 1'('1)' bad prec:edef"ll;e. in the agency as oIIt!:'r pe.nons alTc.cled by the said govcmmelll directive. wi ll also find ways of nouting it. THIS DAY tnoo.! atte.mpts to speak. to the DiR:Ctor Geneml. the. Legal Advi~ :r. who is III lhe centre of the cold war and other senior pc.rst nnel of the agency un Ulei r re:iction and polIition on II~ 'ssue through phohe caJl~ and visits 10 NTh1ASA he.adqw Rers, bol UItY spurned answerin g any q~ tion . They directed lhe. reponer to the agency's spokesperson. However, l'Cacti nr. Ihe Ot'PI.IIY Director_ Public Rel3tions, Hajia Lami Tumal:a said, NTMASA executives have at;:tuall y contracted a one-re.:u- appointment for Mr. Egbadon and not Iwo years os d ninted by the petition for him to continue his wol'1: :I!I tm Legal Adviser 10 the d irec1or@.ene.r.l1. ACCOI'ding to her. theDirector~I , Mr. Patrick Ziakede At:pobolokemi h8:1 to seck the face of the Presidency and. Ministry of Tmn!port in Abuja by milking a t'Ue ro.- Mr. Egbadoo as the onl)' compc1ent. honest and diligent penon be can work wi\b in ftc I!I!!!C)' ill that ct"Fcity, heatll5e be i5 the
only pctSOIIlx: trusts and call work with for now. This i5 in other to defend himself antl the office considering the fale of oUIer tlirec:ton generals thai have been bc.f(lte him. Hajia Tumak.a, who said the problem wi th anyone having issues with NIMASA and iu DiR:Ctor Gencrals, boils down 10 th at pef"iOII5 inabi lity to awreciatc the ·strategic importance of NIMASA to the nation's ccooomy. but rother prefer 10 loy and experiment wilh thedesti ny ofone orthc nation's majorsou~ of income . She cnIled on such people 10 hal'e a change ofhe3" . ult Is an issue boiling at the rnomc:n t, and il is I'er)' unfortunate. Our counterp.1ru in Ihe business li ke NPA, Shippers Council amongst others, nel-e r have this kind or issue. Why is it always N IMASAf' six: asked rhe torically. She said the effect or Ule rrequent changes of the Di rector Generals ill NIMASA due 10 one petition or !lIe olher is .becoming more worri50me as tile day roles by, because the increasing and cum ulating relationship between NIMASAs II.nd its foreign pilrtnet"S and likely in~tors might be. UlfC3teoed by the unstAble leadershi p being witnessed by the agency. She also Aid thai there is scheduled 10 be. a board meeting soon to fully ratify the one-yearcont:r"llCt for Mr. Egbado. "The most importMt Ihing is that the olle-year contT1lct has been approved by the secretary, in accooIance with e\"ef)' rules and regulation of the aiencY. So I pray e\'eryone concerned to put his or her heads together for the positr.'e growth or the NIMASA . whk h is the mai n reuon wby we an: ~.M H3jia
Thmw stressed_
Local Govcrnments 3t the cost uf N67. 489. 000.00. Tlle sum of N39 million was committed for l'l!leri nary iJrugs f('l'olvi n, fund. GOI'C rnnlen l has 315(1 re-i ntroduced the abandoned annual callie I'accinalion pn>gra mme. Howeve r, il would be r«alled thaI duri ng th~ farmi ng SCMlln I ~ I )·ea r. the Bauch l Sla te Commissioner for Agriculture 1(151 his job bccoluse fer· tiliser.3 mlljor fann mg input CQultl nN reach the farmers . rt'ah~i n g the negative impact of lhi.. on food produelion. V Yuguda \\h ileon 1115 campaign aclivi tlC!' 10 the 20 1<JC31 gOI'emmenl llreas of the ~ta t e before tht g('llc61 elections promiSC(J 10 tlelil'Cf fen ili.scr 10 the doorstep of f~ml('rs . True 10 his "'orU <, 5ince the commencement o f Ihis )'ear's famling season fe"iliscr has been sold at 50 pe r cefll 1I!s.~ in 1m: optn mmkel price and ve ry much al'ailnble as monilom:! b) TIlISDAY in lhe Stale c3pit:\! and some olher loe3l !O~'ernmc: nl are iU (If Ihe Slate. Also. hi ~ gOl'e nllnenl's decision 10 encourage eac h loc~1 govern mc nt to produce crops o f which it has com p~rative ~ dl'anl age Ol'er olll(' rs is an idea if implcme l1led. will encQUrage Ihe spirit of compelition and consequentl y boost Iht' production of food ~nJ cash for bolh 10(31 con<lImp'ion and ensures sales or surp lus. O"'e"er, wh ile ~pprccialing gOl"emmcnt"s tle' ermina tion to tum al1ention to lhe agricu llur.ll . .'il:Illlc rarme rs ....ho ~ poke to nUSDA Y ad vised Ihat 5uch a largescale acti", ity would require I. I!eneral (I~rhaul of the ministry and l!.1!t'ocies responsible. for agri cultur.l1 activi ties. In Ihis respect, more fraClors . OX Plough. insecticide and adequale funding musl be provided 10 actualise Ihis dream , Ihey suggested. In Addi ti on. fann -Imi ning ~ntres must be equipped , while obsolete machi nes replaced anJ sla rr adeqU31eiy remunenlted to encou rnge them to rem ain wilhin the rural areas to train loc-al farmers . The Fadama III project is one of Ihe programnx:s thaI Yuguda can encournge and parl ner wilh to fast lrack the Illnll rarmi ng scheme. FOf example,they said the state government should ellCtlurage loea} councils 10 speed up the paymc:nts of the coun terpar1 conlribu tions 10 enabk them IItt ract more funds from tilt' Fadama ill projects. II will be. disherutening 10 hear that while the. Slate GoI'emmc:n t has fully p:tid its 20 10 eOI.mII':rp;1r1 rund ror the project , the. 20 lot'lIl councils have only rell!a.o;aI 10V millions of the N40 milliott expeclw from lhem for III(' same yeu. The Bauch; State Agri culllJrnl Development Programlilt' (USADP), 11-.c V Co-opernlive Financing " gency (CFi\) and the Dnuchi SI~te Agriculturn l Supply Comp3ny (UASAe) , all h~\!e vital ro lt's 10 play in supponing Yuguda 's cffor1 10 ft' invigorole Ihc agriculturnl sector. Iheir expenise mu <1 be soug h! always in the course of implementing the programme. The cumnl fenilise r distribulion exercise. needs 10 be monitored 10 prevenl comntittee member! , statl! and local goverTlment officials, politicians and middlemen from diver1ing prodoct5 meanl for Bauehi to other states. In easc (If default. govemmc:nt should V enforce. lhe existing law to tleler others from engaging in such sharpY practice . The Hnusas said " Nom3 TllSheo Aniki"' meanin, famling is the root or wealth. " we should all support Governor Isa YUl!uda rural agricultural t~ro~l ion scheme 10 rid Bauchi Slale of enliemic poI-erIII ".' ,,,,,_
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