The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of agricultural equipment and farm inputs to smallholder farmers in Yobe State as part of efforts to boost food production and address food security challenges.
The distribution was officially flagged off on Thursday at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security office in Damaturu, where beneficiaries drawn from different parts of the state received various items to support their farming activities.
Speaking at the event on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, the Director of Special Duties in the ministry, Zarah Kachalla, said the intervention was designed to respond to ongoing food security concerns facing the country.
“Food security remains a major concern both globally and nationally and is a core component of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” she said.
Kachalla recalled that the Federal Government declared a state of emergency on food security in July 2023, noting that the declaration prompted a review of existing programmes and the introduction of targeted interventions to assist smallholder farmers struggling with rising production costs.
She explained that the items distributed during the exercise included power tillers, herbicides, liquid fertilisers, knapsack sprayers, water pumps, insecticides and certified seeds.
According to her, the inputs were provided free of charge and distributed through commodity associations, cooperative groups, farmers with special needs and internally displaced persons to ensure that vulnerable groups were adequately supported.
Earlier, the Yobe State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ali Mustapha Goniri, said the programme would help improve agricultural productivity across the state.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Garba Tahir, Goniri said the state government had implemented several reforms in the agricultural sector since 2020. These reforms, he said, included the organisation of an agricultural summit, the establishment of an Agricultural Revitalisation Committee, and the development of a five-year strategic plan alongside an agricultural policy.
He disclosed that “inputs and equipment valued at over ₦17 billion were distributed to 5,340 beneficiaries across 178 political wards in 2024,” while “more than ₦16 billion worth of inputs were distributed to about 27,000 beneficiaries in 2025.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Yobe State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Sulaiman Musa, said the distribution formed part of a nationwide intervention targeting 50 cooperative groups and commodity associations along the agricultural value chain in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Yobe State Coordinator of the Small Scale Women Farmers Association, Maryam Yakubu, said the intervention would ease the burden of rising input costs.
“This support will help farmers cope with the high cost of inputs and improve agricultural activities in the state,” she said.
