Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, has launched a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming 558 young farmers into millionaires across the Northwest geopolitical zone.
The new programme, named the Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution in the North West, BIARN, will provide financial support, modern farming techniques, and strategic partnerships to empower young farmers in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
According to him, a total of three beneficiaries will be selected from each of the 186 local government areas within the seven states.
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Each selected farmer will receive ₦5 million in interest-free funding, amounting to ₦2.79 billion in total disbursements.
Addressing the Senate Press Corps at the National Assembly in Abuja., Mr Jibrin’s Special Adviser on Policy and Monitoring, Prof. Bashir Muhammad Fagge, said: “Food security is paramount and at the top of the agenda of progressive nations globally. Without it, you are insecure at the individual, family, local government, state, and country levels.
“If you recall, decades ago, the North, especially the North West, was our country’s food basket, producing most of the agricultural products for consumption by the people nationwide and even for export to our neighbouring countries. However, that has become history.
“To change the narrative and harness the enormous arable land across the seven North West states, I have developed the initiative of empowering 558 young farmers in the North West geopolitical zone for the first phase of the programme.
“The Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution in the North West (BIARN) programme aims to use the vast arable land in the geopolitical zone to restore its agricultural prominence and achieve food security.
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“My foundation, the Barau I Jibrin Foundation (BIJF), is partnering with a relevant national financial institution to implement this programme.
“It will interest you to know that we have had a series of meetings with the institution’s management. Arrangements for the project’s launch are almost complete.
“The initiative’s targeted April this year to launch fully, ahead of this year’s farming season.
“The breakdown of the beneficiaries per state is as follows: Kaduna 69, Kano 132, Kebbi 63, Katsina 102, Jigawa 81, Sokoto 69 and Zamfara 42.
“The beneficiaries of this scheme would be guided in cultivating maize and rice crops. This would essentially boost the desired yield of the two crops, reduce the cost of food items, and enhance food security in the zone and nationwide.
“In 2023, Nigeria produced about 8.9 million metric tons of paddy rice, the highest since 2010. However, this quantity is far too low to meet the acute needs of the continuously growing populace. The central concept behind this scheme is to revolutionise agricultural production in northwestern Nigeria by empowering youths with a background in agriculture.
“My brainchild, the BIARN, was conceived to boost agricultural production in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“To this end, I solicit your support for this project’s success. If we attain food security in our country, more than half of our problems will be solved.
“So, let’s do it together for the benefit of all.”
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