The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the sum of N1.4 billion under four different contracts for the procurement of equipment and agricultural inputs for the National Youth Farmers’ Scheme (NYFS), to encourage youth participation in agriculture.
This was disclosed at the Presidential Villa, Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed while briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
NYFS is a youth program under National Agricultural Land Development Authority ( NALDA) to attract, encourage and empower 1000 young farmers from each of the 774 LGAs in Nigeria, cutting across the entire Agricultural Value Chain.
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The government set up the scheme to improve food production and fulfill the mandate of president Buhari of producing what we eat and eat what we produce.
Mohammed expressed optimism about the four contracts awarded for the scheme that those projects would encourage youths to go into agriculture, boasting that the government is giving young people land, preparing the land for them and give them equipment and fertilizers as well as other agric inputs to ensure food security.
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According to him, the first is provision of farmer inputs like seeds, agro-chemicals and growth enhancers, for 3000 hectares in Abia, Adamawa, Borno, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Osun, Yobe and Enugu States, while the second was the supply of tractors, ploughs, ridgers, disc arrows, hydraulic tipping trailers, logistics and deliveries to Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Osun and Jigawa States.
The minister added that the third is purchase of land preparation equipment including, 11 massive Ferguson tractors, 11 disc ploughs, 11 three disc ploughs, 11 four disc ridgers , 11 twenty disc arrows and 11 hydraulic tipping trailers for Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Osun, Jigawa and Gombe states and that the last contract is on the professional and technical enhancement for the scheme in Enugu, Ekiti, Abia, Imo, Adamawa, Cross River, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Borno and Rivers
