By Daniel Tyokua
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has cautioned farmers across the six Area Councils against reselling the 550 metric tonnes of assorted fertilizers subsidised by 50% for them.
At the flag-off in Abuja, on Thursday, Wike said the subsidy was to help farmers to boost food production, security, and not for reselling.
He said each metric tonne contains 600 bags, bringing the total to 330,000 including conventional NPK, granular urea, NPK gel and urea gel fertilizers, for onward distribution to verified farmers.
Wike said, “This initiative is a cornerstone of our commitment to food security and agricultural revitalization. It comes at the peak of the farming season when our farmers need support the most. With these inputs, we aim not only to boost yields but also to cushion the effects of rising food costs on households'”he said.
He said transparency and accountability mechanisms had been put in place to ensure the fertilizers reach genuine farmers rather than being diverted to the open market.
“To whom much is given, much is expected. I passionately appeal to our farmers not to sell these fertilizers but to use them to cultivate their lands and feed their families and the FCT at large”, he said.
The minister urged FCT youth to embrace farming, noting that Abuja is blessed with vast arable land. “Instead of waiting endlessly for white-collar jobs, our young people should go into agriculture. It is time to return to the farms and produce what we eat,” he urged.
Wike noted ongoing collaborations with international and local partners, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IITA, the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO, the Leventis Foundation, and the World Bank through its ACReSAL Project. These, he said, have contributed significantly to farmer training, capacity building, and reclamation of degraded land.
He also acknowledged the Islamic Development Bank’s SAP-Z programme and the FCT CARES project as initiatives complementing government efforts to build a sustainable agricultural sector.
“Our ultimate goal is to build a prosperous, secure, and inclusive city that every Nigerian is proud to call home. Improved security in the FCT has already restored confidence and created a safer environment for agriculture to thrive,” he said.
On his part, the mandate Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Mr Abdullahi Ango, disclosed that in addition to the fertilizers, 3,500 knapsack sprayers had also been procured for distribution.
He explained that only certified farmers were selected to benefit from the intervention, with strict monitoring measures put in place to prevent diversion.
“The importance of agriculture cannot be overstated. With a fast-growing population, investing in agriculture is our surest path to self-sufficiency, job creation, and food security”, he said.
He pledged the Secretariat’s continued alignment with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Wike’s leadership in repositioning the FCT agricultural sector.
Stakeholders and farmers who attended the event expressed optimism that the intervention would help reduce production costs and translate into affordable food prices in the territory.
