Farmers will reap benefits of my govt’s policies – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday Nigerian farmers would reap the benefits of his government’s reforms as he continues to accord the highest priority to agriculture.

The president, according to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated this at a meeting with Katsina State Elders’ Forum in Abuja.

He described agriculture as the country’s largest employer of labour and engine of growth, saying his administration would continue to take steps to enhance output and productivity in the sector.

Buhari said: “This will be achieved by ensuring the availability of cheap agricultural credits, farm inputs, fertiliser, and the introduction of the latest technologies.”

The president noted that the choice of practicing farmers as ministers in charge of agriculture was a reflection of his strong wish to protect the interest of farmers and the attainment of national food self-sufficiency.

READ ALSO: Farmers write Buhari, accuse agric minister of interference, antagonism

President Buhari appointed Chief Audu Ogbeh as Minister of Agriculture during his first term and chose Alhaji Sabo Nanono when he was re-elected last year.

He agreed to look into the elders’ request for the expansion of existing irrigation schemes at Zobe and Sabke dams to enhance employment and profitability in agriculture.

Buhari maintained that a situation in which 60 percent of the state is productive in rain-fed agriculture for three to four months and idle for the rest of the year was unacceptable.

The president told the elders that he had charged his ministers of agriculture to work with the states to rediscover the lost grazing routes in order to end the frequent violence between farmers and herdsmen.

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