News Investigators/ The Kaduna State Government has called on agricultural input suppliers to moderate the cost of fertilisers, seeds and agrochemicals to make farming more profitable for both smallholder and commercial farmers.
Murtala Dabo, the State Commissioner for Agriculture made the appeal on Friday in Kaduna.
Mr Dabo spoke during a strategic coordination meeting convened under the Policy and Agricultural System Strengthening (PASS) project, in partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
He said the state government was concerned that most smallholder farmers could no longer afford basic farm inputs, a situation that could undermine the state’s food security agenda.
“If we want to boost productivity, we must start by bringing down the cost of farm inputs.
“Most of our farmers are smallholders who are struggling to afford the basics needed to cultivate,” Mr Dabo said.
He said the state was committed to building an inclusive and resilient agricultural system.
Mr Dabo, however, lamented that high input costs remained a critical bottleneck to the government efforts.
“We need input suppliers to be part of the solution. Affordable inputs mean more farmers can plant, produce and earn,” the commissioner said.
Mr Dabo condemned the hoarding of grains by some merchants and large-scale farmers, describing the act as exploitative and dangerous to food security.
“It is unacceptable for anyone to aim for a 400 per cent profit while citizens cannot afford to eat.
“If maize returns to N100,000 per bag again, this government will not hesitate to open the borders for importation and no responsible government will allow that to happen again,” the commissioner warned.
He revealed plans by the state government to reintroduce a Guaranteed Minimum Price mechanism to stabilise the grains market and protect both farmers and consumers.
“Farmers need assurance that prices won’t crash at harvest and consumers need protection from arbitrary price hike and that is the balance we seek.”
He urged farmers to invest in high yield seeds for multiple harvests per hectare for profitability.
Mr Dabo urged financial institutions to invest in agronomics as it is a viable sector with less risk.
According to him, most farming activities, especially dry season cultivation yield returns within four to six months.
He disclosed that the state was developing a geo-referenced farmer database and would soon send a team to a sister state to understudy their successful farm clustering system.
“Clustering helps us monitor inputs, track yields and ensure transparency. We want to adopt that model here in Kaduna,” he said.
Also speaking, the Country Director of SYNERGOS Nigeria, Victor Adejoh, announced that the state had concluded three key agricultural policy documents and would soon present them to the State Executive Council for approval.
Mr Adejoh explained that the policies had undergone validation by stakeholders and would guide agricultural transformation efforts once approved.
“We are hopeful that the documents will be approved at the next council meeting and subsequently be disseminated to all stakeholders.”
The SYNERGOS boss further revealed that Kaduna plans to develop three additional policy strategies to tackle key gaps in seed quality, extension services and mechanisation to align with national agricultural goals.
The meeting was attended by stakeholders from government, private sector, development partners, and civil society to coordinate actions and strengthen agricultural resilience in Kaduna State.
NAN