‘Only Registered Farmers Will Be Allowed Access to Subsidised Farm Inputs From Govt’ – Enugu Commissioner
Enugu State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Patrick Ubru, has stated that only registered farmers will be allowed access to subsidised farm inputs from the state government.
He made this declaration in Enugu on Thursday, noting that the office would be open for registration, especially in light of the state’s preparations for pre-farming training to kickstart the new farming season.
Ubru explained that the aim of registration is to differentiate genuine farmers from political farmers. According to him, after the training is completed, inputs such as seedlings, fertilizers, sprayers, and others would be distributed to those who register.
“The registration narrows down our work and ensures that we don’t deal with the political farmers,” he explained.
“This is why we are doing validation of farmers after registration to ensure the farm they claimed to have actually belonged to, so that during distribution, we’ll go back to our database.”
He reported that the ministry, in March, distributed solar-enabled pumping machines and other equipment to farmers to support dry-season farming.
“We are doing a lot; a few days ago, I was at Isi Uzo Council Area for sensitization of rural farmers in the area. These are part of our preparation for the new farming season.
“In Nkanu East Council Area, we have deployed our men there to teach farmers good agricultural practices as the area has potential for rice production, and we are building 20 tons of rice mills in Owo,” he stated.
The commissioner further called for the expansion of soya beans and maize production, as well as promoting the use of cassava pellets for feed production, with the aim of ensuring lower feed prices for livestock.
He pointed out that cassava is very important to Enugu State, noting that over 500 hectares of cassava were cultivated for bioethanol value chain development.
“There’s a need to encourage private individuals to establish feed mills in the state to help push down prices and remove the cost of transporting them to Enugu,” he said.
