Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has flagged off the 2023 farming season in Aziare, Katagum Local Government Area of the state.
Noting that his administration has diversified the economic sector of the state to ensure food security, Mohammed assured that the agricultural sector would continue to receive priority.
“I want to draw the attention of our farmers to this year’s farming seasonal rainfall prediction (SRP) by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET)”,  he stated.
NIMET had predicted that for most parts of the country, planting season would start towards the end of May 2023.
Warning that there may be flooding in some parts of the country, the Governor urged farmers to make good use of the NIMET prediction and avoid planting in areas that are prone to flooding.
Mohammed lamented the influx of armyworms which was recorded in some parts of the state at the beginning of last year’s farming season.
He said the development resulted in the destruction of crops and many farms.
The governor also said concerted efforts have been made by the State Government to control the invasion through a rapid spray.
“In order to avoid the recurrence of the incident this year, the Ministry of Agriculture has been directed to immediately make requirements and other measures to control the army worms menace immediately”, he said.
He directed that fertilizer be sold directly to farmers to guard against shylock marketers, adding that adequate fertilizer and other farming implements had been made available to meet the growing demands of farmers across the state.
Mohammed announced that the Bauchi Fertilizer Blending Company blended 200 trucks of NPK 20-10-10 fertilizer.
The Governor also said NPK fertilizer is to be sold to farmers at N15,000 against the production cost of N17,800.
In his welcome address, Commissioner for Agriculture, Barrister Jidauna Tula Mbami, appealed to farmers to adhere to the prediction of (NIMET) of low rainfall in parts of the country.
On his part, the Chairman, All Farmers Association, Alhaji Yusuf Gambo, commended the State Government for subsidizing the amount of fertilizer and other farming inputs.
He said the gesture would go a long way in encouraging large-scale farming across the state.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has contributed $60million for the implementation of the jointly-funded Federal Government Livelihood Empowerment Family Enterprise Project in the Niger Delta.
The six-year project supported by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has reached about 14,500 smallholder farmers across Delta, Edo, Abia, Cross River, Bayelsa and Ondo states within three years of implementation.
The Country Director, IFAD Nigeria, Dede Ekoue, while speaking at the official launch of the mid-term review mission of the project in Abuja, Wednesday, said IFAD has contributed $60 million out of the total project cost of $97.8 million.
According to her, NDDC is to contribute $30 million while federal and state governments would contribute $0.57 million and $4.88 respectively, saying, unfortunately, the NDDC is yet to contribute its quota to kick-start the project in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo.
She said the project has made significant progress, including reaching about 14,155 smallholder farmers as against the targeted 25,500 farmers. That puts the progress at 55.5 per cent
She further said the project has engaged 792 mature businesses to create and coach 6,035 new enterprises, generating gainful employment for women and youths.
Ekoue added: “To boost the achievement of a nutritional goal, a total of 2,500 community women and youths have been trained on the use and cultivation of bio-fortified planting materials – Provitamin A cassava, brown rice, fruits, orange-fleshed sweet potato and vegetable homestead establishment in over 35 schools and 150 incubation centres to improve nutrition and income generation.
The Director, Project Coordinating Unit in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Musa Bujar, commended IFAD on the implementation of the project in six oil-producing states, urging them to also accommodate the remaining states.
He assured of the ministry’s commitment to ensuring full implementation of the project.

The Lagos State Government has urged secondary school students in the state to embrace agriculture as a means of livelihood and for income generation.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, stated this during the handover of three smart farms to principals of three senior secondary schools in Lagos.
The Tide’s source reports that the beneficiaries include Lagos City Senior College, Sabo, Yaba; Igbobi College, Yaba and Omole Senior Grammar School, Ikeja.
The farms are smart aquaponics, aquaculture and poultry system units with hardware components under the Lagos Agric Scholar Programme.
Olusanya said  the students should not look at agriculture as an archaic profession but means where people are making huge income.
She said they must eat irrespective of what they wished to become in future noting, without food they could not achieve their goals.
According to her, countries such as Botswana, U.S. and China are rooted in agriculture.
“As an engineer, a doctor, aeronautic engineer, or neurosurgeon, whatever it is you want to become, you must eat.
“Even if you say you want to go on 30 days fast, no food, no water, you must break the fast with food.
“So, who is going to produce food if none of you is interested in agriculture? Where do you think your food will come from?
“If you do your research today, the largest land holder in the U.S. is Bill Gate. He is buying off most of the farmlands and it is for a reason.
“The person that controls the food resort of the world will control the world.
“With Ukraine and Russia war, we know the effect on prices of bread in the market, because the wheat used in making bread comes from the eastern Europe.
“Agrisiti and Corporate Farmers are a crop of young and vibrant farmers with the energy, zeal and passion to transform agriculture in Nigeria.
“We are happy and proud to work with these young people to transform agriculture in Lagos”, she said.
The representative of Agrisiti, Mr Oyewole Akintohude, said aquaculture consist of two fish ponds with 400 fingerlings, while the poultry was stocked with 60 birds and hydropohics.
Akintohude said the farms had solar system, borehole water and generating set to perform optimally.
Also, Mr Adedotun Akanbi, Principal, Igbobi College, Yaba, commended the state government for choosing the school as one of those to benefit from the laudable project.
Akanbi said the project was coming at a better time to train the students on practical agriculture.
The Founder, Corporate Farmer, Mr Akin Alabi, said a comic book was created for students in 2020 on red meat value chain and rice, to educate them on the projects of the government and agric in general.