By Segun Otokiti, Abuja
*Ex Tambari TV boss commends him on NWDC
WorldStage Newsonline– The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin has announced his plans to raise 558 young farmer millionaires this farming season this year.
Under the plan, each beneficiary will receive N5 million to invest in farming during this season at a total sum of N2.79.
The plan, coming under a programme tagged: Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution in the North West (BIARN), is in an effort to revive the agriculture sector in the seven North West States, according to Barau.
Under the programme three young farmers will be selected from each of the 186 local government areas of the seven states that comprise the North West geopolitical zone: Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara.
Addressing members of the Senate Press Corps at the National Assembly on Thursday, he said BIARN was established to boost the agricultural sector towards attaining food security in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Speaking through his Special Adviser on Policy and Monitoring, Professor Bashir Muhammad Fagge, he disclosed that the initiative is being coordinated by his foundation, the Barau I Jibrin Foundation (BIJF).
Welcoming journalists to a press conference on the initiative and organized by his foundation, Barau, who was represented at the conference by Faggae said he called the press conference to inform the public about his initiative to revolutionize the agricultural sector of the country in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR).
Food security, according to him, is paramount and at the top of the agenda of progressive nations globally, without which the nation is insecure at the individual, family, local government, state, and country levels.
Speaking further on the initiative Barau said: “If you recall, decades ago, the North, especially the North West, was our country’s food basket, producing most of the agricultural products for consumption by the people nationwide and even for export to our neighbouring countries. However, that has become history.
“To change the narrative and harness the enormous arable land across the seven North West states, I have developed the initiative of empowering 558 young farmers in the North West geopolitical zone for the first phase of the programme.
“The Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution in the North West (BIARN) programme aims to use the vast arable land in the geopolitical zone to restore its agricultural prominence and achieve food security.
“My foundation, the Barau I Jibrin Foundation (BIJF), is partnering with a relevant national financial institution to implement this programme.
“It will interest you to know that we have had a series of meetings with the institution’s management. Arrangements for the project’s launch are almost complete.
“The initiative targeted April this year to launch fully, ahead of this year’s farming season.
“Under the BIARN, three young farmers will be selected from each of the 186 local government areas of the seven states that comprise the North West geopolitical zone—Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara.
“Each selected beneficiary will receive an interest-free N5 million loan to invest in farming during this year’s cropping season. The sum of N2.79 billion will be disbursed to the beneficiaries.
“The breakdown of the beneficiaries per state is as follows: Kaduna 69, Kano 132, Kebbi 63, Katsina 102, Jigawa 81, Sokoto 69 and Zamfara 42.
“The beneficiaries of this scheme would be guided in cultivating maize and rice crops. This would essentially boost the desired yield of the two crops, reduce the cost of food items, and enhance food security in the zone and nationwide.
“In 2023, Nigeria produced about 8.9 million metric tons of paddy rice, the highest since 2010. However, this quantity is far too low to meet the acute needs of the continuously growing populace. The central concept behind this scheme is to revolutionise agricultural production in northwestern Nigeria by empowering youths with a background in agriculture.
“My brainchild, the BIARN, was conceived to boost agricultural production in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“I met with the financial institution and we had fruitful discussions.
“As a follow-up to my meeting, the chairman of the Implementation Committee of (BIARN), Professor Bashir Muhammad Fagge (mni), who is also my Special Adviser on Policy and Monitoring, together with my Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Ismail Mudashir, have also met twice with the top management staff of the financial institution, where the partnership was extensively discussed and arrangements are being finalized.
“The two teams will soon sign the MOU for the project’s take-off. This will be done next week, Insha Allah.”
The Deputy Senate President therefore solicited support of people in the region for the success of the project, assuring that if food security was attained in our country, more than half of the country’s problems would have been solved.
COMMENDATION
A former Managing Director of Tambari Television Mr. Ibrahim Sani Shawai has commended the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin on his efforts at ensuring the establishment of the North West Development Commission (NWDC).
He said, Barau, by his sheer commitment to the course of sponsoring the bill and facilitating legislative processes towards the realization of the commission showed his love for the people and good intentions to the development of the region.
“By this act the NWDC will be able to bring a huge sigh of relief to residents of North-West by transforming the region into a hub of agricultural, economic, and industrial excellence towards ensuring a prosperous future for the people,” Shawai stated.
While admitting that the task before the NWDC was not small in view of the impact of insecurity, youth unemployment, high index of poverty rate in the region and the need to pull a lot of resources together to rebuild the infrastructure and hopes of those who have been directly hit by the impact in the states of the region, Shawai however said with the capable hands of Prof Shehu Ma’aji at the helm of affairs of the commission, there was no doubt that NWDC would get the job well done.
According to him, NWDC has a huge role to play in transforming the region through initiatives that will target key sectors where the region’s comparative advantage lies towards changing the narrative for the people of the North-West.
“To achieve this, he advised, “the commission should focus on initiatives that promote economic growth, social and industrial development, and infrastructure improvement as well as creating job opportunities.
“In this regard, all hands must be on deck to support the NWDC to succeed; the people must build a culture of responsibility and ownership to any programmes, policies, initiatives and projects targeted towards improving the welfare and well-being of the people residing within the region.
