Niger State Government has taken delivery of 68,087 litres of liquid gel fertiliser from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) under the National Food Security Council-Emergency Agricultural Intervention (NFSC-EAI) to farmers affected by the 2018 flood in the State.
The Acting Governor, Comrade Yakubu Garba received the fertiliser in Minna when the Director General (DG) NEMA, Hajiya Zubaida Umar led other officials of the Agency for the handing over.
The DG NEMA while handing over the fertiliser, explains that the liquid gel fertiliser is a replacement for the balance of the NPK fertiliser approved for Niger State under the NFSC-EAI which the distribution commenced in 2020.
Represented by the Director Planning, Research and Forecasting, Dr. Onimode Bandele, the DG NEMA further says the distribution could not be concluded due to the changes in the regulations by the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI), which terminated the former contract while a new one commenced, substituting the granular powder fertilizer to liquid gel based on recommendation from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The DG of NEMA says a litre of the liquid gel fertilizer is equivalent to 50 kg of NPK 20-10-10 Fertiliser and that the process of procuring started in 2022 and ended in February 2024.
She appreciated the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago for his efforts in Agriculture aimed at promoting national policy on food security and called for timely distribution of the liquid gel fertiliser to the intended beneficiaries.
Responding, the Acting Governor of Niger State, Comrade Yakubu Garba describes the gesture as a boost to the Agricultural initiative of the State, adding that the State has no reason to fail in Agriculture.
He commended the Federal government and the management of NEMA for completing what began in 2020.
The Acting Governor assured the fertilizer would be judiciously distributed to the beneficiaries, as the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has the record of the affected farmers of 2018 flood in the State.
