The Federal Government has provided support to over 8,000 wheat farmers in Gombe State by offering subsidized inputs to enable them to cultivate wheat during the dry season. Dr. Ibrahim Bomoi, State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, announced this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday.
Bomoi explained that the initiative is part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aimed at boosting agricultural production. Each farmer received two bags of NPK fertiliser, one 50kg bag of Urea, and a 50kg bag of wheat seeds for the dry season farming.
Under the subsidy arrangement, farmers are required to pay 50% of the cost of fertiliser and 25% of the cost of wheat seeds. The farmers benefiting from the programme were selected from four local government areas in the state: Nafada, Kaltungo, Yamaltu Deba, and Dukku.
Bomoi confirmed that the Federal Government is supporting approximately 8,000 farmers in Gombe to enhance wheat production during the dry season. While some farmers have already received their inputs, he assured that all would receive theirs within the next 10 days, enabling them to begin cultivation.
He noted that the initiative was designed to address the high costs involved in wheat farming and stressed that the government had appointed aggregators to work with each cluster of wheat farmers. This is to avoid market gluts and ensure the efficient use of resources.
Bomoi also highlighted that similar support was provided during the wet season, benefiting over 6,120 farmers with inputs for cultivating sorghum, rice, and maize. He urged the farmers to make the most of this opportunity by using the inputs responsibly to ensure successful harvests.
