Nigeria to support farmers for wet season farming

The Federal Government is to start distribution of farm inputs to farmers for the 2017 wet season farming in August, Mr Ohiare Jatto, an official, says.
 
Audu Ogbeh
Minister of Agric & Rural Devt
Mr Ohiare Jatto, the Director, Farm Input Support Services, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja recently.

He said no fewer than 300,000 to 500,000 farmers across the country would benefit from the programme.

Jatto said the setback experienced in the distribution of the inputs, under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme, was as due to the delay in the release of the 2017 budget.

“We still owe agro dealers a lot of money and we want to clear the debt as soon as we have money to enable them to participate in the programme,’’ he said.

Jatto said although the Federal Government had settled part of the debt owed during the 2014 wet season and 2014/2015 dry season farming, the money paid was insignificant, when compared to the outstanding one.

“There will be farm inputs for farmers this year but the timing is the factor.


“We are still hoping to start inputs distribution between the last week of July and first week of August, all things being equal, if we are able to pay the agro dealers.

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