Over 600 Rice farmers are to be empowered to increase their production capacity by British/ American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BARTNF) in collaboration with Labana Rice Mills.
The empowerment programme is designed to be carried out in three years with two hundred farmers expected to benefit in three farming seasons.
The programme was unveiled by the General Manager of Labana Rice Mills Abdullahi Idris Zuru while flagging up the distribution of farming inputs to the first set of the programme beneficiaries.
He explained that under the programme, each of the 100 Rice farmers organised in cooperatives, will be supported with six bags of fertiliser and cash component for dry season farming and are expected to supply the product to Labana Rice Mills to buy at preveling Market price.
After the recovery he further explained, additional 100 farmers will be enrolled for the wet season farming ” within three years, 600 farmers are expected to be trained in cooperatives management and supported with inputs such that they will be able to manage themselves at the end of the duration of the programme ” he added.
The General Manager congratulated the beneficiaries selected by the International Non-Governmental Organisation in collaboration with Labana Rice Mills, to justify the trust and confidence the organisation has in them by supplying the value of the cost of the inputs given to Labana Rice Mills for payment to enable more people to benefit.
The first set of 100 farmers for the pilot programme were drawn from Argungu, Bunza, Yauri and Ngaski local government areas with hundred percent women from Yauri.
The Ceremony was attended by the representatives of USAID (Feed the Future)
