President Muhammadu Buhari has sympathised with the people of Kebbi on the flood disasters that destroyed farmlands, crops and homes.
Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, said Buhari was reacting to the latest outbreak of the natural disaster in some parts of the country.
Buhari said he was “highly touched by the sheer scale of the losses suffered by our hard working farmers in Kebbi State.”
The President maintained that the “sad news could not have come at a worse time for this administration because of the role of Kebbi farmers in supporting the government’s initiative to promote local rice production as part of efforts to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on importation of the commodity.’’
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According to him, the flood disaster represents a setback for the efforts to boost local rice production in the country, for which Kebbi is playing a leading role.
The President noted that apart from creating job opportunities and decent incomes for the farmers, agriculture also played a key role in the economy of any country.
“When our farmers are hit by these kinds of large scale losses on account of natural disasters, the government should be genuinely concerned, especially as this unfortunate event occurred at a critical time when my administration is pursuing a policy to restore the primacy of agriculture in our national life,’’ he added.
President Buhari urged the affected farmers not to despair, assuring them that they would not be forgotten by the Federal Government.
He commended the state government for the swift measures put into action to alleviate the hardship of the victims and equally directed federal emergency aid agency to support the victims.(NAN)