The Plateau Patriotic Front (PPF) has counselled farmers in Plateau State against using the gains from recent government programmes to benefit them on social vices or marriage of new spouses.
The PPF made the call as it commended the Governor Caleb Mutfwang administration in Plateau State over its intensified efforts to ensure sustainable food production in the State.
The initiatives the group said in a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Mani Imman would stamp out poverty among farmers and ensure food security in the State.
The charge came on the heels of the Governor’s commissioning of 20 tractors and the disbursement of $250,000 to support agricultural activities in 10 communities in the State.
The PPF in the statement issued at the weekend commended the Governor for his strategic partnership with the World Bank through the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes Project (ACReSAL), saying the State stands to gain immensely as agricultural activities are boosted.
Imman urged the benefitting communities, which included Guratop, Kerang, Zamko, Ampang West, Dinting, Jimin, Kaler, Plateau Club/Bingham, Pishe, Yashi, and Wereh, which received a loan of $25,000 each, to maximally utilize the opportunity to empower themselves, create wealth, and reduce unemployment and poverty.
“We are thrilled with Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s efforts in the agricultural sector; each step he takes inches the State towards self-sufficiency in food production. The coming of these 20 tractors will ease the burden of farmers, and encourage young people to make a living in the sector.
“We are particularly happy that these tractors are seen by citizens, and have trained people operating them, a departure from what was obtained in the past where phantom tractors were promised to farmers and they were not able to make use of them.
“We urge the beneficiaries to make a very good use of the opportunity to add value. The availability of the tractors and the loans to support the farmers to cultivate will lift the people out of poverty and create employment for others when properly utilized,” Imman noted.
“Please we beg our community members that the gains of these initiatives are not to increase socialising, social vices or even marry more wives. Please we charge the beneficiaries to channel the gains in the business as a way of increasing their economic capital.”
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