The Borno State Government has announced plans to subsidise fuel at N600 per litre to 5,000 farmers in communities hit by Boko Haram insurgents in the state.
Governor Babagana Zulum spoke on Friday at the flag-off of distribution of inputs to prospective farmers resettled by his administration.
The first set of prospective farmers are those resettled in Bama and environs.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Bama was among the areas overrun by Boko Haram insurgents in 2014, but was liberated by the Nigerian military in March 2015.
The governor was on a two-day tour of the local government area to facilitate the resettlement of people displaced from Bama and environs due to insurgency.
Zulum had earlier visited Abbaram town, a village located in the Eastern part of Kur Mohammed military barracks, where his administration plans to construct 1,000 shelters for the returnees.
He also visited Darajamal to assess the destruction caused by Boko Haram insurgents there.
Speaking after the visitation, the governor said that one of the major challenges facing irrigation farmers in the area was the rising cost of petrol.
He said: “As a result, I want to announce to the general public that the state government will procure petroleum products and sell to the farmers at a subsidised rate.
“Currently petrol is being sold in Maiduguri at N1,200 per litre, but inshaa Allah (God willing), henceforth for irrigation farmers this season a litre of petrol will be sold at N600.
“The Commissioner for Agriculture will work with the Brigade Commander to ensure the delivery of the petroleum products to farmers in Bama town as soon as possible.”
According to the governor, the planned fuel subsidy was designed to cushion the effects of high cost of farming activities.
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Zulum said there was the need to support the vulnerable in an effort to fully reintegrate them into the society without any form of discrimination.
He also gave 2,000 bags of NPK fertiliser, 1,000 units of water pumps, and 620 units of gasoline pumps to the farmers for free.
The governor also distributed 380 units of solar water pumps, 1,000 units of sprayers, 800 rolls of two-inch flexible hose, and 1,000 litres of pesticide and seedlings to the farmers.
He said that the incentives would propel agricultural productivity and prepare the farmers to be employers of labour in the near future.
Earlier, the Shehu of Bama, Dr. Umar El-Kanemi, thanked the governor for the love and care he has been showing to the people of Bama in particular and Borno people in general.
El-Kanemi assured the governor that his laudable investments in Bama and the surrounding communities would not be in vain.
Zulum was accompanied by the representative of Borno Central Senatorial District, Senator Kaka Lawan, and members of the House of Representatives from the area.
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