GES: Kano Govt Opens Inputs Redemption Centres

The Kano State Gov
ernment says it has set up 88 redemption centres across the 44 local government areas for the collection of inputs under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme.
The GES is the flagship programme of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) through which registered farmers receive fertiliser allocation via an electronic platform known as the e-wallet.
The programme is being administered by private agro-dealers, with the federal and state governments 50 per cent of the fertiliser cost while the benefiting farmers pay the remaining 50 per cent.
“Farmers who register under the GES, will receive text message through their mobile phones, indicating the number of bags allocated to them and the collection centre.
“Each farmer will have the chance to buy two bags of fertiliser in addition to rice or maize seeds at subsidised rate,’’ Alhaji Garba Yunusa, the spokesman in state Ministry of Agriculture,” explained while speaking with the newsmen  in Kano last Thursday.
Yunusa said following a report on the possible shortage of rainfall this year, the state government had trained extension officers to enlighten farmers on the impending situation and advise them on what to do.
He, therefore, urged farmers who received the text messages to go to the collection centres immediately as the commodity was ready for collection.