The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), has disbursed 70 trucks carrying 42,000 bags of fertilizers to farmers in Kwara State.
Every farmer is entitled to at least three bags, said Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor on Community Development, Lawal Olohungbebe.
“This is an intervention by the federal government that complements what the state government has already done on three different occasions.
“Here we have 50 trucks of NPK fertilizers and 20 trucks of Urea fertilizers, making a total of 70 trucks, donated by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to the people of Kwara State.
“This would be a continuous exercise. At the state level, we have distributed fertilizers and other agricultural inputs in three batches. But this one is coming from the federal government. The federal government has given it to the state for free, and we are also giving it to the genuine farmers for free,” he said.
Olohungbebe added that the free distribution would be carried out by a fertilizer distribution committee in 16 local government areas.
Committee members include local government development officials, traditional and community leaders, community-based organizations, representatives of CAN and Jama’atu Nasrul Islam, civil society organizations, people living with disabilities and farmers, among others.
Olohungbebe assured that the distribution process will be transparent and hassle-free: “We assure the federal government that these items will reach the grassroots. In Kwara, we do not joke with the grassroots because we are running a community-based government.”
