Aisha Ahmed
Dutse
Jigawa state Governor, Malam Umar Namadi, has vowed to protect the integrity of the Federal Government’s agricultural initiatives and ordered the arrest of agro-dealers for alledged sabotaging the Federal government’s wheat production scheme in the state.
The Governor made the commitment in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Hamisu Gumel which said that the Governor paid an unscheduled visit to some local governments to monitor the process over the weekend.
The statement said that Namadi uncovered how the the agro-dealers allegedly inflated the prices of inputs, thus sabotaging the Federal Government’s National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket Programme.
The Governor, as reported, paid an unscheduled inspection to the inputs distribution centers in Birnin Kudu, Kiyawa, Jahun, Miga and Kafin-Hausa local government areas of the state.
According to the statement, “Governor Namadi witnessed firsthand, how farmers, were being swindled as a result of irregularities in the distribution process.
“He found out from several centers, how the agro-dealers sold the subsidized inputs intended for farmers to marketers, thereby denying the intended recipients their rightful allocations.”
The governor however, expressed dismay over the failure of the agro-dealers to fulfill their responsibilities, thus created difficulty for farmers to access the inputs needed to begin timely planting.
According to the program guideline, farmers are required to pay ₦159,187 for their inputs, with 50% of this cost already subsidized by the Federal Government under former President Muhammadu BuBuhari.z
Yet some individuals imposed additional charges of ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 to the farmers, thereby further burdening the farmers,” the report said.
The Governor however, urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, to urgently address the situation, by replacing irresponsible agro-dealers to prevent further disruptions to the programme.
He cautioned that racketeering activities could jeopardize not only Jigawa State’s wheat farming goals, but the success of the scheme nationwide.
Namadi thus reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the Wheat Production Scheme, benefits all intended recipients, pledging to continue monitoring the program closely.
“We are committed to safeguard farmers’ interests and protect their integrity,” Namadi said according to the report.
