By Martha Agas
The Plateau Government has distributed 500 units of irrigation water pumps to farmers in the southern zone of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the distribution was carried out under the Phase One-assisted Africa Development Bank Group (AFDP) Potatoes Value Chain Support Programme (PVCSP) in Plateau.
NAN reports that the state government procured 1,500 irrigation water pumps to be distributed to farmers across the 17 Local Government Areas in the state.
Gov. Simon Lalong during the exercise on Wednesday in Jos, said that the gesture was part of his holistic transformation for potatoes farming in the state.
He said that potatoes farmers had been suffering hardship of lack of improved seeds, potato diseases and lack of preservation among others, adding that his administration would address the issues under the potato value chain project.
“We are under taking various infrastructure projects under the Potato Value Chain Programme. This includes market infrastructure, diffused light stores, processing centres and rehabilitation of rural roads covering all the zones of the state.
“The distribution of projects under the Potatoes Value Chain Programme shows that the Northern Zone has 28 projects, Central Zone 19 and the Southern Zone 11,” he said.
He said in addition to the projects which some have reached almost completion stages, the state would construct 34 water harvesting structures, 20 spring captures, 1000 wash bores and 150 tube wells across the 17 local government areas.
“Our administration is also carrying out the construction of 200km rural roads across the 17 local government, which will create access for transporting farm inputs and evacuating harvested crops with ease,” he said.
Lalong said the construction of the potatoes tissue culture laboratory in Mangu Local Government was part of its efforts to ensure the challenges of lack of quality and varieties of seeds was addressed.
”It will also facilitate more production of potatoes with less cost and labour.’’
He warned the beneficiaries of the pumps against sale and misuse of the equipment, saying “government will not fail to deal decisively with anyone who is found to be contravening the terms of distribution of these pumps.’’
The governor said he had several meetings with the local and international investors on potatoes farming to build the capacity of the state to export the product to other part of the world while creating employment opportunities to youths in the state.
“We want to resuscitate farm training centres for graduates and agriculture is critical because it has taken Nigeria off recession,” he said.
He said the pumps distributed to six local governments in the southern zone of the state, would continue in the central and northern zones.
The Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Hosea Finangwai, said that more than 90 per cent of potatoes produced in Nigeria were from Plateau.
He said the project would improve the economic base of the state, saying previously only nine states could cultivate potatoes but now other local governments had demonstrated the capacity to produce the crop.
The commissioner said the water pumps were to facilitate dry season farming which would address high humidity in farming, a major cause of potatoes blight.
The Project Coordinator of the Plateau State Value Chain Support Programme, Mr Thomas Muopshin said the distribution of the pumps would have multiplier effects of the value chain in marketing and processing.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Alhaji Dan-Azumi Danjuma, thanked the governor for the provision of the pumps, saying he had been committed in remitting counterpart funding for agriculture interventions in the state.
He commended the governor for creating enabling environment for investors in the agric sector, while urging him to ensure farm inputs such as fertilisers were distributed timely to farmers to ensure bumper harvest.
(NAN)