Agriculture is quite significant to both humans and the economy of a nation; it is the backbone of a nation’s economy. In addition to providing food and raw material, it also provides employment opportunities to a swath of the population and it is on this account that the Gov. Bagudu administration is turning Kebbi state into the food basket of the nation.
It is indisputable that farming creates opportunities to lift people out of poverty in developing nations. Over 60 per cent of the world’s working poor are in agriculture. Farming creates more jobs, beginning with farmers, and continuing with farm equipment makers, food processing plants, transportation, infrastructure and manufacturing. Having realised the importance of agriculture and farming, Gov. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has placed priority in developing the farming process and the agricultural produce in the last five years of his administration in the state.
Bagudu’s re-election for a historic second term by the people of Kebbi state is a testimony to the ceaseless and invaluable love they have for him in view of his tireless efforts to move the state forward, especially in the area of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) through agriculture by making life more meaningful to farmers. Kebbi has remained the pacesetter in agriculture, especially rice production, with the attendant multiplier effects for the citizens, as well as the economy of the state and that of Nigeria in general.
Governor Bagudu has made giant strides in agriculture, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Program geared towards improving rice production. The N15 billion scheme is owned and financed by the federal government as part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic diversification agenda, to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food production, especially bolstering the rice value chain.
The Anchor Borrowers Loan Programme (ABP), under the CBN, is aimed at boosting rice production, targeting 70,000 farmers. The federal government scheme, which has received the backing of Governor Bagudu, has greatly assisted President Buhari’s diversification agenda, to reduce over dependence on oil, as well as assisted the country in overcoming the impending economic recession and the stoppage of rice importation into the country.
The scheme which was flagged off by President Buhari in November 2015, in Kebbi, has achieved tremendous successes. The Bagudu administration boosts the program by providing logistics support to the Anchor Borrowers Program committee to reach all the 21 LGAs and capture the bio-data of all genuine benefiting farmers, in order to ensure that only genuine small holder farmers got the loan.
The Anchor Borrowers programme revolutionised rice farming in Kebbi to the extent that within one and a half years of launching the program, Kebbi recorded the production of almost two million tonnes of rice. The state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Samaila Dabai, gave the hint when some journalists visited Kebbi rice fields in 2016. The state, since then, became a Jewel in the Sahara, receiving prominent visitors, including for and state governments officials, who wanted to see what Kebbi has achieved in rice production.
The state became the darling of many states in Nigeria who became fascinated by Governor Bagudu’s feat in rice production. Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor, and the then Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, as well as that of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, all made several visits to Kebbi rice fields, to ascertain the success in the rice revolution recorded in the state. The program has also made many youths and civil servants who were hitherto not farmers to go back to the farms.
From 2016 to 2017, most of the pilgrims that registered to travel on holy pilgrimage to Mecca were farmers who got their money through rice cultivation. The story did not end here as many Kebbi farmers became instant, jubilant millionaires. The state also witnessed the influx of both foreign and local investors. Rice processors established rice mills, both big and small. Modern rice mills like Labana and Wacot established their bases in Birnin Kebbi and Argungu, respectively. Other mini ones abound in different parts of the state, such Lolo, Kamba, in Dandi local government area, Jega and Bunza, among others. It is on record that Oxfam, an international non-governmental organization commended Kebbi state government for earmarking 10% of its budgetary to agriculture, for over two years. In 2016, N12.6 billion was allocated to agriculture and in 2017, a whopping N14 billion was injected into the agricultural sector by the Bagudu government. Since the inception of the Bagudu administration, agriculture has been his major focus because of its strategic importance in many areas, from rural development, economic development and job creation to critical revenue generation and job creation. The Kebbi people have generated wealth by keying into the value chain.
Gov. Bagudu, while commiserating with farmers whose farmlands were destroyed by the flood recently, assured them of the state government’s assistance in providing improved seeds and other agricultural inputs required by the farmers, to enable them go back to their farms as soon as the flood receded and this is in his quest to ensure sustainability of high level of the farm produce in the state.
Adubi writes from Kaduna
