BUA Cement donates N108m farm inputs to 211 farmers in Sokoto 

From Bashir Rabe Mani in Sokoto

BUA Cement Company Plc, Sokoto,on Saturday donated assorted farm inputs worth about N108 million to no fewer than 211 farmers drawn from its host communities.

Our Correspondent in Sokoto reports that the items were donated to the beneficiaries who were drawn from some resettled communities, all in the bid to bolster food security.

The items were distributed under the firm’s ‘Resettlement and Sustainable Livelihood Restoration Programme’.

Speaking at the historic annual event, the Managing Director of the company, Engr. Yusuf Binji, said that the aim of the gesture was to restore the livelihood of the residents of the displaced communities due to the quarry operations of the company.

Represented by the Assistant Director, Corporate Services, Alhaji Sada Suleiman, Engr. Binji said that the gesture would also boost food production in the state.

Also speaking, the Director, Health, Community, Safety and Environment, Engr. Ali Gumel, urged the beneficiaries to use the inputs judiciously.

Engr. Gumel  also stated that the benefiting farmers had adequately been trained on how to properly use the inputs by the Sokoto State Agricultural Development Programme ( SADP).

SADP’s Programme Manager, Alhaji Abubakar Danmaliki, also said that the farmers will be sustainably getting routine extension services with a view to guiding them on the proper utilisation of the inputs.

He also said that the gesture will greatly assist the farmers to absorb the shock of displacement, while also ramping up food production.

Alhaji Rabiu Maska, the company’s Social Performance Specialist, listed the inputs donated to the farmers to include fertilizers such as NPK, Urea and liquid fertilizer.

The other items, he said, are: Improved seeds of cowpeas, maize, sorghum and groundnut as well as  pesticides and  herbicides, among others.

A cross section of the beneficiaries commended the firm for the invaluable gesture, vowing to use the inputs for the purpose they are meant for.