The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane has reaffirmed Government’s commitment to support Smallholder Farmers across the value chain in order to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahmed Matane disclosed this at the 4th Annual Harvest Festival organized by Zuma 88.5 FM Radio, Abuja with the theme: “using radio to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on food security and agriculture in Nigeria”.
The SSG who is also the Chairman, State Task Force on COVID-19 Pandemic stated that it became imperative for the State Government to provide support to production systems across value chains with a view to mitigating the impact of Coronavirus.
He said that the present administration led by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is determined to ensure increased food production and improve the standard of farming activities as such will continue to give the sector the desired attention.
According to Ahmed Matane “the government will continue to improve the living standard of the people to be more productive as well as encourage youth in the State to embrace farming activities so as to become self-reliance”.
In his remarks, the representative of the Wife of the Governor of Niger State, Dr.Amina Sani Bello, the Hon. Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman said Government is committed to boosting farming through support to Smallholder Farmers in order to create more employment opportunities for youth in the State.
The SSG who was earlier featured in a live programme of Zuma 88.5 FM Radio tagged “So far so Good” reminded Nigerlites of the basic protective measures against the novel Coronavirus to include regular and thorough washing of hands with soap, maintaining social distancing between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing, avoid touching nose, eyes and mouth, practicing respiratory hygiene by covering mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and then disposes of the used tissue immediately among several others.
He further called on the people of the State to take the precautionary measures against the dreaded Coronavirus with all seriousness, adding that COVID-19 is real and not a western conspiracy as some ignorant persons are claiming.
The 4th Annual Harvest Festival which also marked the 15th anniversary of Zuma 88.5 FM, Abuja was also attended by the Speaker, Niger State House of Assembly, Hon. Abdullahi Bawa Wuse, Hon. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Muhammad Sani Idris, Hon. Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Professor Baba Ali, top Government functionaries and media representatives.
