In a bold push to strengthen food security and revitalize agriculture in Kwara State, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has handed over 16 tractors and a wide array of farm inputs to chairmen of all 16 local government areas.
The gesture, part of the Kwara ACReSAL initiative, aims to empower farmers across the state — particularly women and youth — with the tools needed to ramp up food production.
At a symbolic handover event in Ilorin, the governor, represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, emphasized the state government’s dedication to agricultural transformation.
“Today marks another milestone in the history of Kwara State as we are deploying the tractors to all the 16 local government areas for the benefit of our farmers, especially the women and youth in farming,” he stated.
The items distributed included 16 tractors, 32,000kg of maize seeds (1,600 bags), 18,000kg of Faro 44 rice seeds (360 bags), and 10,800kg of soybean seeds (270 bags).
Also included were 720 sachets of inoculant, over 10,000 bags of various fertilizers (NPK, urea, and SSP), and thousands of herbicides for maize, rice, and soybean cultivation. Additionally, 2,480 knapsack sprayers were provided to facilitate pesticide and herbicide application.
Governor AbdulRazaq noted that the distribution of inputs would continue in the coming weeks, with oversight from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Kwara State Farmers Support and Welfare Committee to ensure that the supplies reach grassroots farmers.
“These 16 tractors are specifically coming from the state government and will be supervised by the ministry in partnership with the state committee on support and welfare for farmers,” he added.
Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Kwara, Hon. Abubakar Abdullahi Danladi, speaking on behalf of the council chairmen, praised the initiative and pledged responsible usage and distribution of the inputs.
“We are used to this, because on a yearly basis, we see different things from His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kwara State.
“He has been doing the needful and honestly we are happy to be here as council chairmen to witness what is happening today,” he said.
The Chairman of the Kwara State Farmers Support and Welfare Committee, Mallam Abdullahi Ahmed Kaiama, also commended the government’s continuous support for the agricultural sector.
“We have to glorify God and be grateful to His Excellency, the Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for all he has been doing towards promoting the welfare of people of the state, particularly in the agricultural sector,” he said.
Kaiama assured that the distribution process would be transparent and efficient.
“To be very particular, we are giving it to them free of charge, and the farmers are going to glorify God and thank our governor for the support,” he added.
