The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in an attempt to reduce the suffering of flood victims in Kogi state has flagged off the distribution of fertilisers to farmers that lost their farmlands to the 2018 flood.
The distribution of fertilizers will benefit 16, 059 flood victims in the nine affected councils in Kogi state.
This was contained in a statement issued in Lokoja Monday by NEMA which was signed by Mr Oluwatope Ajayi, the agency’s team leader for EAIF in the state.
The exercise is being carried out under the Federal Government’s Emergency Agricultural Intervention Fund (EAIF), but flagged off in Kogi local government area by the commissioner for agriculture, Kehinde Oloruntoba.
The statement said16, 059 farmers spread across nine local government areas of the state will benefit from the gesture.
Ajayi stated that each of the farmers will receive between five to nine bags of NPK fertilisers, depending on the size of their farms.
The team leader however, said that only rice, cassava, maize , yam, sesame seeds , soya beans farmers will benefit from the free fertiliser distribution scheme.
“This is a follow up to the seeds, agrochemicals, sprayers and other agricultural inputs distributed earlier free of charge to the farmers,” Ajayi said in the statement.
He added that the intervention by NEMA was in line with the directive of the National Food Security Council, under the chairmanship of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ajayi said the distribution exercise will cover the affected farmers that have been profiled in eight other local governments of Ibaji, Lokoja, Idah, Bassa, Ajaokuta, Ofu, Igalamela and Omala.