The Federal Government has said it is working out a special flood recovery food production plan to grow more food through irrigation in the forthcoming dry season to minimise the effect of crop losses caused by the recent flooding that destroyed farms in parts of the country.
Minister of Agriculture and rural development, Dr. Adewumi Adesina, who disclosed this in Wushishi during his tour to flood-affected areas in Niger State, said early-maturing rice and maize seeds would soon be provided to farmers for sowing.
He said: “The improved early-maturing, high-yielding seeds would be ready for harvesting within sixty days of planting,” and assured that the farmers would also have access to free fertilisers and cassava planting materials.
He added that the maize seed to be distributed to farmers is a 60-days maturity variety and that the rice seed is a flood resistant variety, with three months maturity period. He further stated that extension service workers will be on ground to help farmers through the processes.
Moved by what he saw of the devastation caused by the floods on rice, maize and banana crops along the banks of River Kaduna, which passed through 15 Local Government Areas of the State, Dr. Adesina said that the federal government was concerned about the plight of the victims of the flood and would do everything possible to mitigate the devastation it caused.
According to him, “The Federal Government would help the government of Niger State to deal with the problem and help the farmers to recover from the devastating impact of the flooding on their crops.”