The National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) has officially inaugurated its Farm Input Support Programme (FISP) to distribute 80,640 bags of subsidised NPK fertiliser to 20,160 smallholder farmers across the North-Central region. 

The Executive Secretary of the NADF, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, performed the regional launch on Wednesday in Minna, Niger State, as part of federal efforts to ease production costs and improve domestic food security.

The multi-state intervention is targeted at small-scale cultivators across Niger, Benue, Nasarawa, and Kwara states. Operating under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the initiative seeks to boost crop yields for essential staples by matching inputs with specific regional production strengths. 

Mr Ibrahim explained that the NADF selected priority commodities based on local comparative advantages, designating rice, maize, and yam production for support in Niger State, whilst focusing on rice, yam, and soybean cultivation for beneficiaries in Benue State.

Ensuring complete accountability and preventing the product from being hijacked by middlemen, all fertilisers supplied under the scheme have been produced locally, made fully traceable, and explicitly stamped with “Not for Sale” branding. The NADF management has also deployed a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework. 

This framework is structurally designed to track post-distribution farm productivity, verify real yield improvements on the ground, and gather empirical data to shape future national agricultural interventions.

Speaking at the launch event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, described the intervention as a timely response arriving at the onset of the rainy season when smallholder fertiliser demand reaches its peak. 

He added that identical crop support rollouts will soon be replicated in other geopolitical zones to enhance national food sovereignty. 

Commending the initiative, the Governor of Niger State, Mr Mohammed Bago, noted that empowering grassroots smallholders with affordable inputs remains the most effective mechanism to stimulate rural economic activities and lower marketplace food prices.

Source: NAN