The Enugu State Government on Saturday, flagged-off the distribution of free 40,000 bags of fertilizers and agro inputs to the registered farmers in the state.
Speaking at the event, Gov. Peter Mbah said that over 60,000 registered farmers across Enugu State would benefit from a new round of free fertilizer and agro-inputs including pesticide and cassava stem.
He described the initiative as another bold step towards food security, poverty eradication, rural prosperity.
The governor said that his administration was focused in transforming agriculture into profitable venture in the state.
He recalled that his administration distributed 12,000 bags of fertilizer alongside power tillers, seedlings, cassava stems, and herbicides at no cost to farmers in 2024 farming season.
Mbah noted that the 2024 agricultural intervention had led to bumper harvests and current reduction in food prices across the state.
“Therefore, it gives me great joy to be here today to flag-off the distribution of over 40,000 bags of free fertilizers and other agro inputs.
“Our farmers are the backbone of our communities – the hands that till the soil and bring food to our tables. Without you, there is no sustenance, no prosperity, and no growth,” Mbah said.
He revealed that 200-hectare Farm Estates were being established in each of the 260 political wards in the state with complete irrigation systems, warehouses, tractor sheds and power supply.
Mbah said that 102 tractors had already been delivered, another 98 on the way; while 800 more would soon be assembled at the tractor assembling plant in Enugu.
“Farming is big business. That is why we are upgrading the Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo, into a University of Agriculture to train the next generation of agricultural scientists, entrepreneurs, and innovators,” Mbah added.
He also reaffirmed ongoing efforts to establish Agro-Industrial Processing Zones and Agricultural Transformation Centres across the three senatorial zones.
The governor said that the free inputs would go directly to registered farmers in the state’s database without middlemen or “political interference”.
In his remarks, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Mr Patrick Ubru, appreciated the governor for inspiring what he called “an agricultural revolution in the state”.
Ubru noted that long-abandoned assets such as Enugu United Palm Products, Ada Rice Irrigation Scheme, Ojor and Mgbagbu Owa irrigation projects, and Sunrise Flour Mill had been revitalised under the Mbah’s administration.
