Governor Inuwa Yahaya advised farmers to look beyond traditional rain-fed agriculture by adopting “climate-smart” and technology-driven practices to improve resilience against environmental changes and increase overall yield.
Bags of fertiliser
In a strategic move to bolster food production and mitigate the rising cost of agricultural inputs, Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya has officially flagged off the 2026 wet season fertiliser sales and distribution exercise.
The intervention, which aims to support the state’s massive farming population, includes the procurement of 12,000 metric tonnes of NPK 20:10:10 fertiliser—totaling approximately 240,000 bags.
During the flag-off ceremony, Governor Yahaya revealed that while the state government procured the fertiliser at a market cost of ₦64,000 per bag, the administration was subsidising the product by 50 percent.
This brings the final selling price for farmers to ₦32,000 per bag.
“Our farmers are confronted with mounting challenges that threaten their survival,” the governor stated.
“This subsidy is our direct response to the harsh economic realities facing our farming communities. It is our way of saying that we will not abandon those who feed the nation,” he added.
Beyond Fertiliser
Recognising that fertiliser alone is not enough to achieve agricultural transformation, the state government is also providing a significant package of agricultural machinery and tools to farmers free of charge.
The distribution includes 45 tractors and 550 rice transplanters, 833 water pumps, 450 motorised weeders, and 544 motorised sprayers.
For processing, they include 350 groundnut shellers, 50 rice/maize planters and harvesters, 50 rice milling machines, and 20 oil filtering and pressing machines.
The event also highlighted a growing synergy between the state and federal governments’ agricultural objectives.
The Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Gombe, Absolom Akwaras, announced that more than 20,000 local farmers have now opened accounts with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA).
This move, he said, aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” agenda, which aims to provide smallholder farmers with better access to credit, inputs, and extension services.
Governor Yahaya used the occasion to urge farmers to look beyond traditional rain-fed agriculture.
He encouraged the adoption of “climate-smart” and technology-driven practices to improve resilience against environmental changes and increase overall yield.
Furthermore, the state government continues to emphasise peace-building as a foundation for agriculture.
The Gombe State Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry noted that the establishment of a White Paper committee on grazing reserves has been instrumental in reducing conflicts between farmers and herders, thereby creating a safer environment for agricultural activities.
The Modibbo Nafada-led All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Gombe State Chapter, commended the governor’s consistency, noting that the timely availability of high-quality inputs has provided a significant competitive advantage to farmers across the state.
