By; BALA B. BITRUS, Minna
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state has said that with such large expanse of landmass of about ten percent of the total landmass of Nigeria, Niger State is greatly endowed with fertile, arable land for all agricultural practices that could produce enough foods to feed the country.
Bello posited that Niger State with almost 9 million hectares of land with equally long stretches of rich rivers and other waterbodies across the state is no doubt an investment haven for economic exploration activities from it’s lands to rivers.
Governor Bello spoke while receiving students participants of the National Institute For Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State.
The NIPPS students of Course 39 at the institute were on study visit to the state as part of their national course work.
Governor Bello said his administration has prioritised and made agriculture it’s major area of attention because of the huge benefits of the sector.
The Governor said the state was willing to pursue federal government’s led paradign shift to agriculture to diversify the country’s economy.
He noted that with such huge natural endowment and comparative advantages over many other states, Niger state will continue to support federal government’s drives for national food security by making agriculture an option for crude oil for which Nigeria has depended on over the years and whose prospects are now bleak.
“We have a lot of potentials and opportunities as far as agriculture is concerned here in our state” said Governor Bello.
“We believe we can feed Nigeria because with our natural endowment of geographical location in the savannah and having a total land area of almost 9 million hectares which is about 90,000sq² kilometers and over 80% of which is fertile, it means a lot”.
He noted that only about 10% of the arable land potion of the total landmass in the state was presently being utilized for agricultural purposes.
He advised the members of the institute to work with the state Ministry of Agriculture and the Niger state Agricultural Mechanization Development Agency, (NAMDA) so as to get the right information about the agricultural potentialities of the state for the benefit of the country at large.
Earlier, the leader of the team, Brigadier General Daniel Chinoko had told his host that the visit by the Course 39 participants was in fulfillment of the Presidential mandate given to the Institute to look into Science, Technology and Innovation in the Development of Agriculture and Agro-Allied Industries in Nigeria.
Niger State is one of the six states in the northern parts of the country earmarked for the study tour by the course participants.
The state according to the Course 39 team leader was chosen because of it’s large expanse of irrigable land for agriculture.
Other states listed include Jigawa, Taraba, Platue, Kebbi and Nasarawa.
