Zamfara Registers Over 25,000 Farmers’ Cooperatives for Agric Programme

The Zamfara Government on Friday said that it has registered over 25,000 farmers’ cooperatives for its Agricultural Comprehensive Revolution Programme (ZACAREP).

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Lawal Jangebe, disclosed this in Gusau, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Jangebe noted that thousands of farmers across the 14 Local Government Areas of the state would be enrolled under the programme, through their respective cooperative bodies.

He said the programme was re-introduced by the state government to complement the Federal Government’s policy of reviving the nation’s agricultural sector.

“This programme was introduced during the previous administration in the state, under the former governor of the state, Ahmed Sani. We know the contributions it made to the development of agriculture in the state and the role it played in the provision of food in the state and its supply nationwide. This is why the present administration in the state decided to reintroduce the programme to provide farmers with inputs such as fertiliser, seeds, herbicides, insecticides and machinery at subsidised rates,” he said.

He said the farmers had agreed to sell the farm products to government after harvesting the crops.

The commissioner said rice, maize, guinea corn, millet, soya beans, groundnuts and sesame crops would be cultivated under the programme.

He, however, said rice would be given priority attention under the scheme.

Jangebe stated that about 800,000 tonnes of fertiliser would be supplied to farmers under the scheme, in order to facilitate a bumper harvest. He expressed the hope that the programme would provide employment opportunities to teeming youths in the state.

The commissioner, therefore, appealed to farmers to enroll in the programme and urged officials of cooperative bodies to ensure that they registered only genuine farmers.