The Nasarawa state government is vigorously complementing President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to launch six additional agricultural development institutes across the federation, to steer Nigeria’s agricultural sector in the direction of mechanisation and technology innovations.
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state, who announced this to the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), recently donated about 50 hectares of land in two locations within Lafia town to the Agency for the sitting of the newly approved Agricultural Machinery & Equipment Development Institute (AMEDI) for the North-Central zone.
President Buhari had approved six of such institutes to NASENI, one per each geo-political zone, across the country with that of the North Central for location in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital.
The highly elated Governor Sule at the Government House, Lafia was full of praises for the Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Engr. Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna, saying the entire Nasarawa state people were proud of Haruna, an indigene of the state.
According to the governor, “The establishment of the new AMEDI in Lafia will not only fast track socio-economic development of the state but the institute will also bequeath on the state new skills’ development and facilities in the areas of agriculture, local and international standard machines and equipment fabrication, technology-based agricultural jobs, wealth and agric-based chains of businesses, including agricultural value-chains and many more economic advantages.
“It is usually heart-rending to observe famers, men and women in the state continuing to use old farm implements for planting, cropping, harvesting, processing and storage of farms produce without upgrade of such tools over the years.”
The governor said the sitting of AMEDI in the state is most appropriate because of the peculiar rich agricultural endowments in Nasarawa, as the state currently hosts most of the big private and commercial agricultural farms in northern Nigeria.
Also, the Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI made particular reference to the recent vote of confidence of Governor Sule in support of NASENI’s quest for endorsement of its one percent federal allocation by the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
