Bauchi To Hold National Agric Show In The Coming Month
By Abdullahi Idris, BAUCHI
All Nigeria Local Governments Agricultural Development & Food Security Evaluation Trade Fair in which all the 774 LGs in the country are expected to actively participate is scheduled to hold in Bauchi between 29th September and 7th October this year.
The weeklong agricultural show is also expected to attract Ministries of Agriculture, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Commerce and Industry, Women Affairs and Social Development, and Chamber of Commerce across the 36 states of the federation, as well as some strong-willed private organizations.
The Executive Director of LOGA and General Agricultural Development Foundation (LOGADEF), Prince Ibrahim Anas, organizers of the National Agricultural Trade Fair, told the press in Bauchi Tuesday that the show has the aim of gearing and winning the minds of rural farmers through interactions and ideas exchange towards self-sufficiency in food production.
He revealed that Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohamed has already approved the conduct of the magnificent show at IBB Square, Bauchi backed up with a donation of N15 million for logistics, saying however that the release of the logistics funds from the office of the Accountant-General has been the major challenge that forced LOGADEF to twice shift time of the event.
“Our major challenge preparatory to the hosting of the trade fair is that the donation His Excellency has approved to support the programme, we are yet to access it and that has given us the delay in shifting the event two times. That is the only challenge we are facing, because we have to mobilize the participants across the 36 states of the federation”, he said.
Prince Ibrahim Anas expressed gratitude to the Bauchi state government, particularly Governor Bala Mohammed for graciously approving the conduct of the show in the state, recalling that Kauran Bauchi had in 2013 as FCT Minister financially and morally facilitated the conduct of similar show in Abuja.
Anas further recalled that LOGADEF was in Bauchi in 2004 during the democratic administration of governor Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu who also approved for the show, but shifting the event a year ahead opportune the Oyo state government to stage the show in 2005, where it recorded huge success with majority of the LGs in Nigeria in attendance.
The director explained that with the hosting of the event, Bauchi would witness huge crowd, revenue of the state would improve during the period, while the long term benefits derivable to the state is so high that cannot easily be quantified, stressing the need for the timely release of the support funds to commence the event in earnest.
Prince Anas who said that LOGADEF has been conducting trade fair since the advent of the nation’s nascent democracy in 1999, stated that the three tiers of government in the country have used to reach and launch various forms of assistance to rural poor farmers, and the programme has helped the farmers attained greater heights in areas of local and international market patronage.
“It is motherless a trade fair, but a research where farmers come together to learn from one another and extract one another’s mind and see the cross local governments relationship in partnering to expand farmers outreach, and reduce flood prone areas, and engage the farmers into all-year round farming”.
“Secondly, it promotes backyard farming by our gender people because the programme is gender sensitive. Women are brought together to support their husbands by giving the little-little seedlings to plant at backyard farms and gardens all in the efforts to ensure food security for the nation”, Anas concluded.
