From Sani Gazas Chinade, Damaturu
The Yobe State Government has acquired 40 additional brand-new Massey Ferguson tractors to enhance agricultural productivity in the state.
In a press statement released by Buba Garba Lawan, the Senior Special Assistant on Media Affairs to Governor Mai Mala Buni, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Ali Mustapha Goniri, disclosed this development shortly after inspecting the tractors in Damaturu, the state capital.
Hon. Ali Mustapha Goniri stated that the new tractors would facilitate large-scale mechanized farming for both rain-fed and irrigation agriculture. This initiative aims to ensure food security for the state’s rapidly growing population.
The commissioner highlighted that Yobe State is endowed with vast fertile arable land suitable for cultivating various food and cash crops, including cowpea, sesame seeds, soybeans, groundnuts, cotton, rice, wheat, millet, and sorghum in large commercial quantities.
He further explained that the surplus agricultural produce provides an opportunity for establishing agro-allied industries, which would enhance the state government’s revenue base, improve farmers’ per capita income, and alleviate poverty.
Governor Buni’s agricultural revolution, according to the commissioner, is geared towards ensuring adequate food supply and providing raw materials for industrial growth. He emphasized that “any nation that can feed its population has solved 50% of its problems, while the remaining challenges can be addressed by economic development to uplift the living standards of its citizens.”
