Alhaji Isiyaku Faskari-Ahmad, the Interim Chairman, Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, on Saturday
said the council had distributed 100 pumping machines to irrigation farmers.

He told our correspondent in Faskari
that the gesture was aimed at boosting food security and reducing extreme
poverty among the people.

Faskari-Ahmad said that the machines
were distributed free to encourage farming activities in the area, especially
among the teeming unemployed.

He said the council embarked on free
distribution of farm input to farmers in recognition of farming as the major
occupation of the people.

He expressed optimism that the gesture
would encourage increased food production, stressing that agriculture provided
jobs to millions of Nigerians while increased government support would
facilitate development.

The chairman said the council had sold
fertilisers, seeds and other inputs at subsidised rates to both rainy season
and irrigation farmers and enjoined the beneficiaries to make proper use of the
items.

He said his administration had embarked
on the construction of feeder roads and health facilities in the rural areas to
ease the difficulties faced by the people and enhance their living conditions.

He said 10 health centres had been
inaugurated while the construction of four feeder roads began in September.

Alhaji Idin Alo, the chairman,
Irrigation Farmers’ Association in Faskari, commended the local government for
the gesture, saying that it would enhance economic activities in the area.

He said farmers in the area were known
for cultivating vegetables, tubers and other items in commercial quantities
through irrigation which served as lucrative sources of livelihood to their
families.