Kebbi lawmakers accuse agric ministry of marginalisation

Members of the House of Representatives from Kebbi State have accused the Ministry of Agriculture and National Resources, of marginalisation in the ongoing registration of farmers.

The lawmakers said the Ministry deliberately refused to inform the state of the registration which will allow the farmers to benefit from the proposed federal government subsidy on fertilizer.

Addressing newsmen, the spokesman of the lawmakers, Shehu Koko said that over one million farmers in the state are being left out of the exercise in spite of the state being the largest producer of rice and other commodities.

According to him, both the Kebbi state government, the farmers and the lawmakers were not informed of the registration, adding that they were taken aback when the Ministry allocated a paltry figure of 95,000 farmers to the state.

He said the figure was unacceptable to the Government and people of the state and called on the House of Representatives to intervene and ensure that farmers in the state are captured in the exercise so that they can benefit from the planned fertiliser subsidy.

Koko said the Ministry tactically discriminated against farmers in the state, describing it as a deliberate attempt to deny them the subsidy from the federal government.

He said the Ministry of Agriculture engaged private enumerators for the exercise who did not consider it necessary to inform the Government and people of Kebbi State about the exercise.

He said it was alarming that the Ministry allocated to the state what he described as a concocted figure of ninety-five thousand which was said to be the registered farmers when “Kebbi State is predominantly a farming State and therefore over 90% of its population are farmers”

However, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has ordered the relevant House Committee to investigate the issue and report back to the House within five days for further legislative action.