To increase food production, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has called for cooperation between Agro-dealers.

The Minister made this statement yesterday, Wednesday, 17th January 2024 during a courtesy call in Abuja with Kabir Umar Fara, the President of the Nigerian Agro Input Dealers Association (NAIDA), and his entourage.

Kyari said that the primary goal of the partnership was to guarantee that the items delivered fulfilled the quantity and quality requirements that were specified to guarantee food sufficiency.

He emphasized that the Association may only sell authorized and certified items obtained from registered input producers.

Considering that marketers represent the government, he tasked associations with developing programs and regulations aimed at mitigating the issue of product adulteration.

Additionally, he exhorted farmers to use and utilize all provided inputs following the finest agronomic methods to maximize productivity.

Before this, NAIDA President Kabir Fara clarified that the organization serves as a collective of distributors of agricultural inputs in Nigeria, encompassing fertilizers, both organic and inorganic, seeds, petroleum-based chemicals, and farm tools.

He made a note of the association’s structure as a national organization, highlighting its six zone Vice Presidents and state chapter coordinators, along with their contact information with the Ministry to guarantee grassroots synergy and a commitment to ensuring that agribusiness is no longer conducted as usual.

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According to him, the group raises awareness among farmers to purchase inputs from reputable, accredited suppliers.

Speaking further, he said that many Agro dealers have a propensity to make incorrect decisions when input costs are high, emphasizing that it is their responsibility to help the Ministry avoid making mistakes.

“Now that the Ministry has issued a sales permit, if someone discovers that you have been selling our inputs without a permit and finds you guilty, they should arrest you immediately,” he continued.

As part of its cooperation with the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory to guarantee compliance, he said that the Ministry has also stationed foot soldiers in every state.