The federal government, in collaboration with Oyo State government, has began the distribution of 21,000 bags of fertilisers to over 10,500 farmers in the state.
At the flag-off ceremony held at OYSADA Ware House, Fertiliser Store, Laniya, Ojongbodu area of Oyo town, no fewer than 250 farmers from Akinyele local government received two bags of fertilisers each to boost their agricultural businesses.
The commissioner for agriculture and rural department , Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye flagged off the distribution .
He explained that the fertilisers donated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, are aimed at cushioning the effects of oil subsidy removal on farmers across the country.
Commissioner for agriculture and rural development, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye,
He therefore encouraged farmers not to resell the fertilizer but apply it on their farmland for abundant food items in the state.
Oyo State coordinator, federal ministry of agriculture and food security, Dr. Florence Kakulu represented by agriculture officer of the ministry, Mrs. Bilikis Abdulateef, said in its support to cushion economic effect on food production, CBN donated 2,000,000 bags of assorted fertilizer to federal government to enhance food security in Nigeria.
She, therefore, charged beneficiaries to let the efforts of both state and federal governments reflect in their productivity during the harvest.
Some of the farmers that benefited from free distribution of the 21, 000 bags of fertilizer, pledged to reciprocate gestures of federal and state governments which they described as timely for dry season farming, assuring that the impact would be felt among the populace through better yield.
Also, in a gesture aimed at supporting education and alleviating the burden of school expenses on parents, First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, has distributed free notebooks to students in public schools across Oyo State.
The distribution, which continued on Monday in Ibadan, the state capital, was flagged off in Iseyin by the Oyo First Lady who was represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs Toyin Balogun.