Jalingo and Kaduna were the main centres of
activities for Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku during
the week. With the very strenuous tour of local
council areas concluded just a few days earlier, it
was expected among Government House staffers that
the Governor will take time off to rest before taking
on another stressful assignment. But that is never the
way of Governor Ishaku, not when there is an urgent
and important job to be done. And so he took on two
other engagements, one of which even required
travelling out of the state.

The main official activity of the Governor for the week
took place in Jalingo. It was the beginning of a new
planting season in Taraba State and the
administration of Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku on
Thursday, April 20, rolled up its sleeves to mobilize
farmers for maximum results. Agriculture is a
priority on the Rescue Agenda of the administration.
It is, therefore, a major area of investment by the
government. Government’s vision is anchored on the
need to produce enough food to meet the needs of
its people and feed markets in other states in Nigeria.
It is also hoping to create thousands of jobs through
the promotion of agriculture.

On that day, Governor Ishaku took a major step
towards actualising that dream. He flagged off the
sale of fertilizer and the distribution of other
agricultural inputs to farmers. The materials
distributed are the best in quality ever given to
farmers in the history of Taraba State. It was also the
first time any government in the state purchased as
much as 30 metric tonnes of fertilizer at a time for
farmers in the state. Each bag is heavily subsidized
and the Governor directed and has insisted that all
the 16 Local Government Council Areas must be fairly
treated in the allocation. The materials have also
been taken into warehouses close to farmers in
order to facilitate accessibility by the farmers,
wherever they may be in the villages.

Other inputs equally critical to the promotion of
agriculture were presented to farmers at the
ceremony. These include rice threshers, special
varieties of Sesame, soya beans and cassava
seedlings. They are all high yielding varieties.
Government is promoting a cassava revolution to
feed a cassava processing industry in the state and to
also help feed other industries in and outside Nigeria
that require cassava as raw materials. Farmers
committed to the production of rice were provided
with rice threshers. It is the first time in the history of
the state such a gesture was extended to farmers.
In a speech at the flag-off ceremony, Governor
Ishaku said he was unwavering in his determination
to transform Taraba into a leading economy in the
North East sub-region. He noted that agriculture
employs about 80 percent of the populace and for
that reason no government that means well for its
people can afford to pay lip service to it. “Under my
administration, agriculture remains a priority.

Agriculture will become big business, farmers will
become richer than contractors and will earn a lot
more respect in the society than they did in the past”,
he said.
He also spoke of agricultural projects and
programmes already completed or are being
planned by the administration. He said farmers in the
state will be encouraged with soft loans to boost
production and expressed happiness over the
unprecedented success of dry season rice farming in
the state. “I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw
recently during a visit the huge amount of progress
made. My plan is to turn agriculture into big
business. Already, small scale farmers’ income has
grown tremendously. Some of them have bought
their own tractors, each of them costing about Seven
Million Naira.

Ishaku said the change in the economic status of
farmers was in line with the objectives of the Rescue
Agenda. “This is what the Rescue Agenda is all about.
We will recue the stomach and rescue the pocket. I
will make the farmers rich, richer than contractors.”
He said the Green House, a highly visionary modern
farm established in Jalingo by his administration, has
started yielding fruits. With it, there will be
abundance of fresh and high quality vegetables for
domestic consumption and export. It has already
employed over 200 indigenes of the state. This
number will rise to 500 when the farm is fully
activated.

The support for agriculture with inputs, according to
Governor Ishaku, remains a critical programme of
his administration. He said fertilizer imported by the
government will be sold at the subsidized price of
N4,500 instead of N6,500. “I wish I could give them
out free to farmers but the finances of the state
cannot permit that for now. Money realised from the
sales will be a revolving capital for the regular
purchase and distribution of the commodity.”
The support farmers are currently receiving from the
Ishaku administration is just the beginning of greater
things to come. “They are a pointer to the fact that
the Rescue Agenda is working,” Ishaku said and
added that by the time all the good things he had
planned for the state were implemented, Taraba
State will never be same again. He urged the people
of the state to keep faith and cooperate with his
administration.
In Kaduna, on Condolence Visit
With the flag-off over in Jalingo, Governor Ishaku flew
out to Abuja from where he travelled by road to
Kaduna on a two-in-one condolence visit. The first
stop was at the Tudun Wada home of Alhaji Ahmadu
Chanchanji, the multi-billionaire businessman from
Taraba State who died a few days earlier. Though an
indigene of Taraba State, Chanchanji lived and did
business for the better part of his life in Kaduna. He
was well known as a highly successful airline and
petroleum business magnate. Ishaku commiserated
with the family of the deceased saying he had come
on the visit on behalf of the Government and people
of Taraba and as member of the Jukun family to
which Chanchanji belonged. He said he had always
seen the late businessman as an elder brother whose
life was an exemplary testimony in business and
honesty.

Ishaku later visited the home of Halima Samaila,
mother of Dr Musa Samaila who had also died a few
days earlier. He urged the family of the deceased to
take the demise of the woman whom he described as
“perfect example of a mother” with fortitude.