Abubakar Kyari, the minister of agriculture and food security, has praised Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna, for transforming the agro-industrial landscape of the state within two and a half years in office.
Kyari spoke on Wednesday when he led a delegation of commissioners of agriculture from all 36 states on a courtesy visit to the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House.
He described the governor as a point of reference in the agriculture and agro-industrial sector in Nigeria.
The minister said Kaduna was once a textile hub that thrived on cotton production, noting that the state is now witnessing “a very different value addition to some of our staple crops”.
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He said Sani’s agricultural initiatives align with President Bola Tinubu’s vision for food security and food sovereignty.
Kyari disclosed that Kaduna was the first subnational entity to launch a special agro-processing zone (SAPZ) in April, emphasising that the governor’s focus extends beyond raw material production to value addition.
He said his team had toured several agricultural sites as part of the 47th regular meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and was impressed with the state’s progress.
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According to the minister, the delegation visited the OLAM Poultry Farm and Feed Mill, TMDK Agro-Allied Processing Company, Tomato Jos, and the Agricultural Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC).
He expressed belief that locating the companies outside the state capital would create jobs in rural areas and help reduce rural-urban migration.
Kyari also commended Kaduna and other states for supporting Tinubu’s call for food security, which he said is “the availability, accessibility and affordability of diverse and nutritious food”.
He further applauded Sani for his inclusive governance approach, which he said has attracted key opposition figures to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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“We were quite impressed with what we saw, and we had no doubt whatsoever that our brother, Distinguished Senator Uba Sani, will perform wonderfully well,” Kyari said.
Also the deputy national chairman (north) of the APC during the party primaries, Kyari expressed confidence in Sani’s capacity to deliver.
Also speaking, the minister of state for agriculture, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, commended the governor for surpassing the Malabo Declaration target of 10 percent budgetary allocation to agriculture.
According to him, Kaduna state currently allocates 12 percent of its budget to the sector and could reach 20 percent by the end of Sani’s two terms in office.
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In his response, the governor expressed gratitude to the two ministers for selecting Kaduna as the host of the National Council of Agriculture and Food Security, calling it a great honour.
Sani said both ministers were his former colleagues in the senate, who had supported his gubernatorial ambitions.
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He noted that Kaduna is the only state in northern Nigeria with an agricultural quality assurance centre (AQAC) to enable farmers to certify their produce for export.
The governor also said Kaduna was the first state in the country to launch a SAPZ, followed by Cross River and Oyo states.
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“We are investing heavily in agriculture because it contributes about 43 percent of our GDP and 60 percent of our workforce,” Sani said.
‘AGRICULTURAL FUNDING INCREASED FROM 0.5% TO 12.5%’
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The governor disclosed that agricultural funding in the state rose from 0.5 percent before his administration to 12.5 percent under his leadership.
Sani also said Kaduna had distributed 900 trucks of free fertiliser to smallholder farmers over the past two years.
“We formed a team that included our traditional owners, our religious leaders, our community leaders, as well as our farmers, the association of farmers in the state,” he said.
“We didn’t allow politics to guide us. We did it without looking at which party you belong to. What place you come from.”
The governor also said they distributed bags of fertiliser to deserving smallholder farmers across the state for free.
