Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh, has handed over 25 tonnes of compounded ruminant feed, reaper, crushing machine and pasture seeds to the Nigerian Army Farms and Ranch.
The farm inputs were given to the Nigerian Army at the unveiling of the army’s agricultural programme on Tuesday at Giri, Abuja.
The Army Barracks’ agricultural programme initiated by Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai is aimed at cultivating the culture of investment in the agricultural value chain by officers and men of the Army and their families, as well as providing jobs for the youth in the barracks.
Speaking at the event, Mr Buratai said “As at today, we have almost 1000 herds of cattle within the Nigerian Army Barracks and formations. This is one of the ranches scattered in all the Nigerian Army formations. Areas such as fisheries, poultry, production of eggs and meat, greenhouses and plantation have also been established in most barracks of the Nigerian Army”.
On the lingering farmers/herders conflict, he said: “We are tasking our Special Forces to ensure that everywhere they are deployed across the country at short notice, they stem the conflict. We have properly deployed across Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa States within the axis where we have the conflict. Once there is peace, the development of agriculture will thrive for the good of our country”.
Mr Ogbeh, while presenting the farm inputs, commended the Nigerian Army for its agricultural initiative and assured them of the ministry’s support and called on other organizations to follow the example of the Nigerian Army and embrace agriculture to boost Nigeria’s food sufficiency.
