By Mohammed Dala Lawan
The Federal Government has flagged off the distribution of agricultural equipment and farm inputs to small holder farmers in Yobe State, as part of efforts to boost food production and advance President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The flag-off ceremony, held on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) office in Damaturu, featured the distribution of essential inputs to farmers across the state.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abba Kyari, the Director of Special Duties of the Ministry, Zarah Kachalla, said the initiative underscored the Federal Government’s commitment to achieving national food security.
She noted that food security remains a top global and national priority, as reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adding that the Tinubu administration has introduced wide-ranging economic reforms to stimulate productivity, create jobs, and reduce the cost of living.
Kachalla recalled that the Federal Government declared a state of emergency on food security in July 2023, stressing that the move demonstrated strong political will to transform the agricultural sector.
According to her, since assuming office in August 2023, the Ministry has realigned its programmes and rolled out targeted interventions to make food available, accessible, and affordable to Nigerians.
She explained that the Ministry has adopted short-term support mechanisms to ease farmers’ access to affordable inputs, particularly smallholder farmers affected by high production costs.
Items distributed during the exercise included power tillers, herbicides, liquid fertilizers, knapsack sprayers, water pumps, insecticides, and certified seeds, which were provided free of charge through commodity associations, cooperative groups, farmers with special needs, and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
In a goodwill message, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Yobe State, Ali Mustapha Goniri, described the programme as historic, noting that it would significantly improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the state.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Garba Tahir, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ali Mustapha Goniri, said the Yobe State Government, under Governor Mai Mala Buni, has since 2020 implemented reforms aimed at revitalizing agriculture, including the organization of the state’s first Agricultural Summit, the establishment of an Agricultural Revitalization Committee, and the development of a five-year strategic plan and the state’s first agricultural policy.
Goniri disclosed that under the state’s agricultural empowerment programme, inputs and equipment worth 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.
He reaffirmed the state’s readiness to collaborate with the Federal Ministry to further strengthen agricultural development.
Earlier in an address of welcome, the Yobe State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Sulaiman Musa, said the distribution exercise was part of a nationwide intervention targeting 50 cooperative groups and commodity associations along the agricultural value chain in the state.
Musa described the programme as a strategic empowerment initiative aligned with global best practices and the Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at enhancing food and nutrition security, building resilience, and creating jobs and wealth.
Speaking on behalf of beneficiaries, the Yobe State Coordinator of the Small Scale Women Farmers Association, Maryam Yakubu, expressed gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, saying the intervention would help farmers overcome the high cost of inputs and enable more people to engage in farming.
She added that the support would go a long way in boosting agricultural activities and improving food production in the state.
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