Niger state governor, Mohammed Umar Bago said that President Bola Tinubu has given a matching order to state governors in the country to embark on mass food production in other to enhance food security in the country.
Bago, who disclosed this while interacting with members of the House of Representatives Press Corps, said his state was prepared to take the lead in complying with the presidential directive.
He said the state has already prepared about 300,000 hectares of farmland to be cultivated, while plans are ongoing to clear another 250,000 hectares of farmland across the state.
He said the state was conscious of the fact that it does not have the Blue economy being developed by the government, but intends to rely heavily on its land mass and green vegetation to improve the economy of the state.
Speaking on climate change, the governor said: “It is very very clear that climate change has been a topic of discussion in the world. This morning I watched with so much pain how Libya has been overtaken by flood unprecedented.
“As a country and as a State, that is 10% the total size of Nigeria with bodies of water for hydropower dams, it is high time we start to pluck excess water during rainy season as a national plan so that we can plough them back when we have a drought.
“As the world is evolving, we cannot be doing otherwise. So, as a state, we are already poised and positioned for the next level. Mr President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given a marching order for food insecurity and Niger State wants to have 10% of the total landmass of Nigeria.
“So, we have to collaborate with our neighbouring states with the Federal Government in the SABC initiative of the AfDB and also with the Livestock Investment Programme of the government of Nigeria. So these are the benefits.”
Speaking on insecurity in parts of the state, Governor Bago said those willing to invest in the state have no reason to be afraid anymore as the government was already taking proactive measures to address the issue.
He said the government’s plan is to take over all lands currently housing bandits across the state and put them into economic use.
He said the government has discovered that most of the land currently being occupied by the bandits are not governed and therefore plans to take over such land for vast agricultural purpose.
The governor also disclosed that the state government has banned mining activities in the state, while making arrangements to create ranches for cattle, adding that in the next six months be planting about 10 million trees across the state.
He said further that the state government has banned mining in the state and will no longer allow those involved to operate in the state even when they come with a license from the Federal Government.
Bago stated that a relationship exists between mining and cattle as the miners often use the cattle to carry their products away from mining sites.
He also said that the state government has entered into an agreement with some state governments in the southwestern part of the country on the stoppage of cattlemen to the South.
The governor said: “We have agreed that cattle will no longer be transported to the South. They will stop at Mokwa where we are setting up a processing plant which will process them before they are transported to the south.”