Agriculture is the backbone of a nation’s economy. In addition to providing food and raw materials, it also provides employment to large percentage of the population and it is on this account that the Bagudu administration is turning Kebbi state into the food basket of the nation.
It is indisputable that farming creates opportunities to lift people out of poverty in developing nations. Over 60 per cent of the world’s working poor works in agriculture. Farming creates more jobs – farmers, farm equipment makers, food processing plants, transportation, infrastructure and manufacturing. Having realised the importance of agriculture and farming, Gov. Bagudu has placed priority in developing the farming process and the agricultural produce in the last five years of his administration in the state.
Bagudu’s re-election for a historic and momentous second term by the people of the state is a clear indication and testimony to the ceaseless and invaluable love the people of Kebbi state have for him in view of his tireless efforts to move the state forward, especially in contributing to the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state through agriculture by making life more meaningful for farmer.
Kebbi has remained the pacesetter in agriculture, especially rice production, with the attendant multiplier effects for the citizens and the economy of the state and that of Nigeria in general. Governor Bagudu has made giant achievements in agriculture, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Program geared towards improving rice production. The N15 billion scheme is owned and financed by the federal government as part of President Buhari’s economic diversification agenda, to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food production, especially bolstering the rice value chain.
The Anchor Borrowers Loan Programme (ABP) under the CBN is to boost rice production, targeting 70,000 farmers. The scheme which has the backing of Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, even though a federal government scheme, has greatly boosted Buhari’s diversification agenda, to reduce over dependence on oil and assisted the country in overcoming the economic recession and the stoppage of rice importation into the country.
The scheme which was flagged off by President Buhari in November 2015 in Kebbi, had achieved tremendous successes, with the political support of Bagudu. The Bagudu administration also providing logistics support to the program committee to reach all the 21 LGAs, to capture the bio-data of benefiting farmers, in order to ensure that only genuine small holder farmers get the loan.
The Anchor Borrowers programme revolutionised rice farming in Kebbi to the extent that within one and a half years, Kebbi recorded the production of almost 2 million tones of rice. The state deputy governor, Alhaji Samaila Dabai, gave the hint when a cross section of journalists visited Kebbi rice fields in 2016. The state since then, became a Jewel in the Sahara, receiving prominent visitors, ranging from federal officials, to state top personnel who wanted to see what Kebbi has achieved in rice production.
The state became the darling of many states in Nigeria who became fascinated by Governor Bagudu’s feat in rice production. The state received the first roll call from Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, and the then Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, as well as that of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, all made several visits to Kebbi rice fields, to ascertain the success in the rice revolution in the state. The program has also made many youths and civil servants who were hitherto not farmers to go back to farms.
From 2016 to 2017, most of the pilgrims that registered to travel on pilgrimage to Mecca were farmers who got their money through the rice cultivation. The story did not also end here as many Kebbi farmers became instant, jubilant millionaires. The state also witnessed the influx of both foreign and local investors. Rice processors established rice mills, both big and small. Modern rice mills like Labana and Wacot established their bases in Birnin Kebbi and Argungu, respectively. Other mini ones abound in different parts of the state, such as the one in Lolo, Kamba, in Dandi LGAs, Jega and Bunza, among others. Oxfam, an international non-governmental organisation, commended Kebbi state government for allocating 10% of its budget to agriculture, for over two years in a row – N12.6 billion in 2016 and N14 billion in 2017.
Since the inception of the Bagudu administration, agriculture has been his major focus in the socio-economic programme because of its strategic importance in many areas, from rural development, economic development and job creation to critical revenue generation and job creation. The Kebbi people have generated wealth by keying into the value chain development.
Gov. Bagudu, while commiserating with farmers whose farmlands were destroyed by flood recently, assured them of the state government’s assistance in providing improved seeds and other agricultural inputs, to enable them return to their farms as soon as the flood recedes and this is in his quest to ensure sustainability of high level of the farm produce in the state.
Adubi writes from Kaduna
