Jigawa creates 30,000 jobs through agric

Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa state has said his administration has in the last three years invested in mega projects, including sugar, rice, livestock and poultry where over 30,000 jobs were created.
The governor, who stated this while addressing reporters on his stewardship in the last three years in Dutse yesterday, explained that the four projects have impacted enormously on the youths of the state..
“The combined annual turnover of these investments will be in excess of N250 billion or two and a half times the state budget, withat least 30,000 direct and indirect jobs created.” He pointed out that this was achieved as a result of the conscious development of the agricultural master plan for both medium and long term targeted at encouraging private sector participation as well as attracting the much needed economic revival in the state.
The governor further reiterated that, “in targeting big investments in the state, we have not forgotten the small holder farmers where we adopted a cluster approach to input supply and extension as well as introduced value chain.” He stressed that this effort would eventually result in “mapping to unlock job opportunities across the cultivation cycle using small implement mechanisation that culminates in better cultivation practice which improves competitiveness and guarantees a market for target crops.” Badaru said, in the last three years of his administration, the budgetary allocation to agriculture had been increased by 210 per cent and expanded Fadama cultivation from 40,000 to 120,000 hectares