FG Approves N13bn For Pest Control In 12 States

The Federal Government has approved N13 billion as an intervention fund for pest control in twelve northern states.

The twelve states are Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe and Borno States.

Alhaji Muhammad Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, said the funds were meant to reduce the effects of COVID-19 on the nation’s food sector.

According to Nanono, the intervention fund was to ensure uninterrupted agricultural activities during the 2020 farming season in the states.

He also explained that the fund would be used to control trans-boundary pests and minimise the impact of coronavirus as well as guarantee nutritional and national food security.

The minister emphasised that the present administration “is determined to fight any menace that will truncate the successes recorded so far in the agricultural sector”.

Nanono also performed the flag-off of the 2020 dry season control of trans-boundary migratory birds for the 12 frontline northern states at the Birnin Kebbi International Airport in Kebbi.

Nanono said, “The choice of Kebbi State for the flag-off is deliberate, in view of the extensive agricultural activities in the state and the immense cooperation and collaboration of the state government in the implementation of agricultural interventions over the years.