Wheat Production: Jigawa Gov Alleges Sabotage By FG On Seedlings Distribution In Jigawa

…Orders Arrest of Farmers’ Association Leader

By Mohammed Abubakar Dutse

Disturbed about the shoddy manner the supply of wheat seedlings and other inputs were being handled in the state, the Jigawa state Governor Umar Namadi has accused federal ministry of agriculture officials handling the project of sabotaging the 2025 100,000-hectare wheat production initiative in the state.

The governor, who made the accusation, when he paid unscheduled visits to seedlings and input redemption centres in Birnin Kudu and Kiyawa local government areas, expressed concern over delay in the supply of commodities and the exploitation of farmers through inflated official prices.

The development is coming just as farmers are intensifying preparation for dry season wheat planting across the state.

It will be recalled that the governor has repeatedly vowed to ensure that the state remains number one wheat producing state in the country, targeting 100, 000 hectares of wheat production, instead of the 45,000 hectares allocated to the state by the federal government.

Namadi, who was flanked by top government officials including the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Haruna Aliyu Dangyatin during the visit was livid with anger in viral video complaining bitterly about the manner in which input supplies were being handled in the state despite concrete arrangements made with the relevant ministry to ensure timely planting to achieve the targeted 100,000 hectares.

At the Kiyawa centre, the governor ordered the Divisional Police Officer, (DPO) of the area, to arrest the chairman of the Kiyawa chapter of the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria, (AFAN) Alhaji Isyaku Katanga

He therefore, directed the Divisional Police Officer, (DPO) to ensure that they retrieve the money collected from the farmers.
The governor, however pledged to ensure that full package is given to the registered farmers as directed by the Federal Government.

Some of the farmers expressed gratitude to the state governor for the concern and pledged to support the state government efforts of assisting the farmers.

According to the governor, “There is a problem with some of the agro-dealers. In the first instance, they are not allowing the farmers to redeem. They are not allowing people to redeem their alerts, and some of them are not here. I came here, and there is nobody in this redeeming centre.”

“Therefore, we are going to report them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. As long as they (agro-dealers) do not issue the inputs to the farmers on time, we are going to waste our money, and the federal government will waste its money without good results because they are not doing the right thing at the right time,” Namadi emphasized.

He further stated, “This is something that we will not tolerate as a government. We will report them to the appropriate authorities so that something must be done.”