By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Gombe
The Gombe State Government has procured 200,000 bags of fertiliser for distribution to farmers across the state, while AshakaCem Limited has also supplied farm inputs to farmers in its host communities of Ashaka and Maiganga.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Abdulkadir Waziri, disclosed the government’s fertiliser intervention while briefing journalists in Gombe after the 55th Executive Council meeting.
Waziri said 80 per cent of the fertiliser had been allocated to the state’s 11 local government areas, with the remaining quantity reserved for other categories of beneficiaries, including large- and medium-scale farmers, registered farmers’ groups and cooperatives.
He said a committee had been constituted to supervise the distribution and ensure that the inputs reached genuine farmers through an equitable and transparent process.
According to him, the distribution is ongoing, with approved farmer groups and organisations expected to collect their allocations through designated channels at the Ministry of Agriculture.
He added that qualified civil servants had also received their allocations, while the next phase would cover large-scale farmers yet to benefit.
Waziri said the intervention was intended to support farmers during the current farming season and improve agricultural production in the state. He urged approved beneficiaries to collect their allocations and use the inputs for their intended purpose.
Meanwhile, AshakaCem Limited, a subsidiary of HBM Nigeria Plc, has distributed fertilisers to farmers in Ashaka and Maiganga communities under its 2026 Agricultural Ecology Programme.
The exercise, conducted at the company’s cement plant in Ashaka and coal mine in Maiganga, also included the provision of improved seed varieties and training in modern farming practices in partnership with the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
The company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ginikanwa Frank-Durugbor, said the agricultural programme was introduced in 2018 and has continued to provide farm inputs and technical support to farmers in its host communities.
Speaking during the distribution, the Managing Director of AshakaCem, Ibrahim Aminu, represented by the Plant Manager, Engr. Adamu Mohammed, urged beneficiaries to apply the farming techniques acquired during the training to improve the use of the inputs.
Some beneficiaries welcomed the intervention, saying the timely provision of fertiliser and improved seeds would support their farming activities during the current season. They also appealed for the programme to be sustained.
