140,000 Farmers to Benefit from Kano State Fertiliser Voucher Scheme

A total of 140,000 farmers are to benefit from the Kano State Fertiliser Voucher Scheme this year, Alhaji Mohammed Kura has said. Kura, who is the Managing Director of the State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA), disclosed this on Tuesday at Dawakin Kudu at a ceremony to mark the commencement of the implementation of the scheme. He said the beneficiaries, who cut across the 44 local government areas in the state, were identified for the scheme through 6,107 qualified farmers' associations registered by KNARDA. He said that under the programme, each farmer would get three bags of fertiliser, two of which would be NPK brand and other urea type.

Kura said the scheme was collaboration between the state government and the National Food Reserve Agency (NAFRA), with the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) providing the technical support. He said the voucher was a discount coupon, which ``enables a farmer to purchase fertiliser from an agro dealer at a discount. He said the scheme was aimed at remedying ``nagging complaints" that government subsidies in fertilisers did not get to the farmers. The Managing Director added that the scheme was being implemented in Kano and Taraba States this year and would be extended to the other states in subsequent years.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Dawakin Kudu Local Government Council, Alhaji Sani Gano, expressed delight at the visit of the observation team. He said the area stood to benefit a lot from the scheme, in view of the availability of water and the high number of farmers involved in wet season farming. NAN reports that the team, which included representatives from Mali and Niger Republics, officials of IFDC and two members of the National Assembly, also visited Gabasawa and witnessed the distribution of the vouchers to the farmers there.

Microsoft Trains 105 Unemployed Graduates in IT Skills

Mr. Manny E m e c h e t a , Director, Bola Ige Information Technology Centre (BIITC), on Wednesday in Abuja said Microsoft Incorporation had trained 105 unemployed Nigerian graduates in Information Technology (IT) this year. Emecheta told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that so far the centre had graduated one to seven batches on various IT skills. Each batch consists of 15 unemployed graduates, he said, adding that batches one to three graduated in March, while batches four to seven graduated this month. He said more students would be graduating before the end of the year. Emecheta said the programme was a Microsoft initiative aimed at developing economic opportunity, transforming education and creating jobs.

He said the target groups were women, youths, the visually impaired and physically challenged persons, adding that the centre had extended the training to stigmatised women and children of policemen. Emecheta stressed that the programme would enhance the employment prospects of the graduates as the new IT skills would give them a competitive edge. He also said Microsoft had paid N11.55 million to the centre and six other NGOs this year to train different target unemployed groups of Nigerians free. The centre got 60,000 dollars for the same programme last year, he added. He commended Microsoft for its contribution to bridge the digital divide.


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