The Enugu state government will Tuesday distribute farm inputs to 63,000 smallholder farmers across to boost agricultural production this farming season, Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru, has said.
He said government also approved the employment of 4,698 additional teachers for its Smart Green Schools, while also directing the activation of all its isolation centres following the outbreak of the Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and parts of Uganda, saying it did not want to be caught unawares.
These were made known to Government House correspondents after a meeting of the State Executive Council in Enugu weekend.
Briefing newsmen, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Malachy Agbo; Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru, Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ndubueze Mbah and Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, said the Mbah Administration would continue to deliver optimal governance even during the campaign period, insisting that it has a mandate and vision to deliver.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation said, “Last year, about 40,000 farmers benefited. This year, it is even bigger and better, as the state has now approved for 63,000 farmers to receive free agricultural inputs as intervention, ranging from fertilisers to agrochemicals, free rice seeds, free maize seeds, and free pepper and tomato seeds.
“The Exco also directed that the beneficiaries of these farm inputs must be duly registered smallholder farmers who are identifiable, whose farms are captured and can be monitored.
“So, on Tuesday, 21st July, the governor will flag off the distribution of farm inputs. Thereafter, the 260 wards will receive theirs under strict monitoring to ensure that only those identifiable as farmers benefit from the scheme to better their lives,” Ubru explained.