KOGI GOVERNMENT GIVES PALLIATIVES TO BOOST FARMING, EASE IMPACT OF DROUGHT 

The Commissioner for Agriculture in Kogi State, Mr Timothy Ojomah, has assured farmers affected by the recent drought in the state of the government assistance towards boosting their farming activities. Ojomah said a comprehensive list of affected farmers from the three senatorial districts of the state has been sent to Abuja with optimism within a short time. In the process , farmers would receive inputs to address the recent effect of drought on farm produce.

He said, “As Agriculture Ministry, we have done our submission to the federal government and we hope that within some weeks we will know what the federal government will come up with in the area of assistance to them to cushion the effects of drought on their farms.

“We are not unaware of the devastating effect the drought experienced this year could have on our target food production, so we are looking at the immediate approach to cushion it.

“We advise farmers to go back to the farms to replough and replant on those areas of farms that have dried up considering the recent prediction of an open window between August 18 and November that rain is going to be around,” he said. The commissioner said that the state government was looking at dry season farming to boost food production noting that officials of Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation were in Kogi to assess facilities; the dams, especially the Enome Dam.

He said the massive facilities has over 13 Kilometers Canal that was built, though not enough to meet the desired plans but when fully utilised, will give tge state enough food production in the dry season and all year round food production.

“The dams are not just in Enome but in six locations across the three senatorial districts of the state

“The dams were built a long time ago by successive governments at the federal level. They were primarily built for power generation and irrigation. We hope to utilise them this time around for irrigation purposes on our farms to boost food production in the state” Ojomah assured

Ojomah noted that dependance on rain for farming activities was no longer attainable considering the climate change. According to him, the best way of farming is dependance on water and the only way we can have that is through irrigation. He said: “With the dams we have now, and more that we intend to have, we shall have enough water on our farms to ensure food production and sufficiency.”

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