The Federal Government said on Saturday it has approved N13 billion as intervention fund for pest control in 12 northern states to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s food sector.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mohammed Nanono, who disclosed this in a statement issued by the ministry, said the 12 “frontline” states to benefit from the fund were Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe, and Borno.
According to the minister, the intervention fund was to ensure uninterrupted agricultural activities during the 2020 farming season in the states.
READ ALSO: FEC approves N14bn for purchase of insecticides in states affected by quelea birds, grasshoppers
He said the fund would also be used to control trans-boundary pests and minimize the impact of COVID – 19 as well as guarantee nutritional and national food security.
Nanono said: “The present administration is determined to fight any menace that will truncate the successes recorded so far in the agricultural sector.
“The government was mindful of reports on desert locust outbreaks in East Africa and the Middle East w
Opinions