Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has provided 130 youth farmers in Hadeija Local Government of Jigawa State with smartphones and cash.

Speaking at the programme held on Thursday, the Director-General of the NITDA Mr Kashif Abdullah Inuwa, explained that the programme is designed to help farmers and other agricultural players navigate their journey in the agricultural chain through the provision of smartphones and the sum of N100,000 each to 130 benefitting young farmers.

The DG NITDA stated that virtual online training with the farmers was conducted due to the COVID-19 lockdown under the supervision of the Ministry for Information and Digital Economy which has introduced the National Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) – a digital platform with motives to transform the Nigerian agricultural sector.

Related News

He disclosed that the 130 farmers selected have been provided with a number of agricultural inputs in the areas of production, management, harvesting, food processing storage, marketing and consumption.

Earlier, the NITDA DG, who was represented by the programme desk officer Mr Lukman Lamidi, noted that the programme is aimed at delivering new business models, create job opportunities and also transform agriculture in Nigeria by training farmers with digital capacity, from being subsistence farmers to modern farmers for more wealth creation, economic diversification and food security.

Beneficiaries of the NAVSA programme expressed their delight at the provision of needed equipment, phones and cash payment which they said would aid them immensely in their agricultural work.