MASARI'S EFFORT IN ENSURING FOOD SECURITY

By Ibrahim M Abdullah


Food remains basic to  human life and survival, animals are also beneficial to food production. Food Availability is what poses threat to human existence.


The sustainable management and resilience of ecosystems is very important on all human activities as a means to address food security for this reason, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is putting together a project on fostering resilience and sustainability for food security in sub Saharan Africa.


Food security is the availability of food at all times of  nourishing, diverse, balanced and moderate supply of basic food stuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption.


It exists when people, at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.


Katsina State is an agrarian which is blessed with a lot of fertile land for production. Food production in the state if carefully planned and executed can cater for both subsistence and commercial purposes.


The current Administration, under the leadership of his Excellency Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari have improvise many ways that will lead the state to reach its objective of attaining food security in the state.


A lot of projects have been put in place to enhance food production in the state which includes:
Rehabilitation and creation of new earth dams in the 34 local government areas of the state to help improve irrigation farming.


Provision and rehabilitation of wash bores and tube wells to compliment the earth dams been use for irrigation farming.


Extension services where resuscitated through procurement of Toyota hilux  and motorcycles for extension workers.


Training of 425 N-power Agro applicants who are been posted to various zones to serve as extension agent.


3 KTARDA workers where sponsored for training in Thailand,women farmers where also trained and equiped with farming facilities.


The ongoing fertiliser distribution across all the 34 local government areas of the state.


Farmers who do not have access to affordable  fertilizer due to the former fraudulent ways of distributing the fertilizer now get it with ease.


With this series of projects put in place to tackle the challenges of food Insecurity in the state,this year's farming season and the subsequent ones to come will yield alot of positive outcome.


This outcome will in turn make the state tackle the  issue of food in security in the state thereby addressing the disturbing issues of famine and hunger which both roots from food insecurity which translate into high degree of vulnerability therefore ensuring food security presupposes and eliminate the vulnerability.

- Ibrahim M Abdullah is the
Director-General, Katsina Media and Publicity.