The chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, has flagged off the distribution of free fertilisers, seedlings and other farm inputs to farmers for the 2026 farming season.
Maikalangu, who spoke during the distribution at Apo Town Hall, said the initiative was aimed at encouraging residents to embrace agriculture as a sustainable means of addressing food scarcity in the council.
He said the programme demonstrated his administration’s commitment to agriculture as a driver of food security, employment, wealth creation and grassroots development.
The AMAC chairman said the programme covered the agricultural value chain, including crop production, livestock, fisheries, agroforestry, resource recycling and food security.
He urged farmers to adopt modern agricultural practices, protect the environment, work cooperatively and make productive use of the inputs provided.
Maikalangu also encouraged young people to see agriculture as a viable business and an avenue for innovation and prosperity, while calling for greater participation of women across the agricultural value chain.
He said farming communities needed access to the knowledge, support and opportunities required to improve productivity.
The Acting Head of Agriculture and Natural Resources in AMAC, Joseph Kambai, said council officials would monitor the use of the farm inputs to ensure they served their intended purpose.
The chairman of farmers in AMAC, Emmanuel Danladi, commended the council for the intervention, saying the inputs would support efforts to improve food security in the FCT.
He, however, urged Maikalangu to address factors contributing to farmer-herder conflicts in the area.
Items distributed to the farmers included knapsack sprayers, seedlings, agrochemicals, irrigation pumping machines, 200 hoes, 100 cutlasses, boots, hand gloves and wheelbarrows.