NEMA distributes 68,087 litres of fertilisers to victims of flood
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has delivered 68,087 litres of liquid gel fertiliser under the National Food Security Council-Emergency Agricultural Intervention (NFSC-EAI) to Niger State for distribution to farmers affected by the 2018 flood in the State.
The State Acting Governor, Comrade Yakubu Garba received the fertiliser in Minna when the Director General (DG) NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar led other officials of the Agency to hand over the items.
The Director General NEMA while handing over the fertiliser, explained that the liquid gel fertiliser is a replacement for the balance of the NPK fertiliser approved for Niger State under the NFSC-EAI which distribution commenced in 2020.
The NEMA boss who was represented by the Director Planning, Research and Forecasting, Dr. Onimode Bandele, explained that the distribution could not be concluded due to the changes in the regulations by the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI), which terminated the former contract while a new one commenced, substituting the granular powder fertiliser to liquid gel based on recommendation from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
She noted that a litre of the liquid gel fertiliser 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 described 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 that the fertiliser would be judiciously distributed to the beneficiaries, as the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has kept record of farmers that were affected by the 2018 flood in the State.
