By Philomina Attah
The Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has commenced the distribution of farm inputs and implements to farmers across its 12 wards as part of activities to mark the 2026 farming season.
The Chairman of AMAC, Dr Christopher Maikalangu, during the distribution on Thursday in Abuja, said the initiative was designed to attain integrated farming for all and to boost food production/employment opportunities in the area.
The items distributed included 375 knapsack sprayers, 65 cartons of agrochemicals, 35 irrigation pumping machines, 200 hoes, 100 cutlasses, 50 pairs of boots, 120 pairs of hand gloves, 30 wheelbarrows, 58 cartons of organic fertiliser, 440 chick trays, 447 drinkers and 680 feeders, among others.
Maikalangu canvassed for stakeholders’ partnership to entrench integrated farming to boost employment opportunities in the area council.
He said that agricultural transformation required partnership between government, farmers, communities and the private sector, noting that food security was a collective responsibility.
He reaffirmed the council’s commitment to agriculture, saying that it was a pathway to food security, economic opportunity, employment, wealth creation and sustainable grassroots development in the area.
According to him, the council wants to encourage young people to see agriculture not simply as subsistence farming, but as a viable business and an avenue for innovation, enterprise and prosperity.
He said that the aim was to ensure greater opportunities for women to participate meaningfully across the agricultural value chain and have access to the knowledge, support and opportunities required to increase productivity for farming communities.
“The future we envision is one where a farmer can cultivate crops, integrate livestock, explore fish production, plant trees, recycle agricultural waste and create multiple streams of income from the same agricultural ecosystem.
“Our responsibility is therefore to create an environment where farmers can produce more, add value to what they produce and have better opportunities to participate in the market.
“I call on our farmers to embrace modern agricultural practices, protect our environment, work cooperatively and make productive use of every opportunity provided through this programme.
“I equally call on our traditional institutions, community leaders, agricultural associations, private investors and development partners to join hands with AMAC as government cannot do it alone,” he said.
Earlier, the Acting Head, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Joseph Kaubai, urged the farmers to effectively utilise the inputs received, describing them as the backbone of Nigeria’s food system.
He said the cost of inputs had been a challenge for farmers, adding that the initiative also sought to cushion the effects of the high cost, increase harvest per hectare, and ensure food and nutrition security.
“To the beneficiaries, the farmers, I urge you, please use this input judiciciously on your farms as trained by our extension workers.
“Do not sell them, let us see the result in the next harvest; our extension agents will be following up with you in the field to give you technical support and may this planting season bring us bumper harvest,” he said.
Responding on behalf of the farmers, the Chairman of the farmer groups, Mr Emmanuel Danladi, commended the council chairman for the initiative.
Danladi said that, as farmers, they were happy and grateful to receive various farm inputs and improvements to support their livelihoods.
He pledged that the farmers would put the input and implements into judicious use to boost food production in the area council.
Danladi, however, urged the area council chairman to provide more logistics for farmers and address pockets of farmer-herder clashes in the area. (NAN)
Edited by Funmilayo Adeyemi