Farmers Greet AUN, FAO for Agricultural Inputs
"This no doubt will change my family's life. Very soon, I know that hunger will be far removed from my household."
These were the words of Maryamu Adamu, a resident of Mayo Bani community in Mubi North Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
She was among the 3,000 farmers from eight communities in Mubi North and South LGAs who benefited from the FAO-AUN rainy season intervention between July 2 and 5. Each farmer received a 10 kg bag each of maize and Cowpea, and a 25 kg bag of fertilizer.
The widowed mother of seven was among the several former IDPs who returned to their homesteads following the recapture of communities previously overrun by Boko Haram.
Maryamu had lost everything, including her husband and breadwinner. Since then, she has had to eke out a living from subsistence farming to cater to the nuclear and extended family that her husband left behind.
It was a happy day for the farmers; they could not hide their joy. Abdulrahman Ibrahim, a full-time farmer from Mugulvu community, said, "I had prepared my land but had no seeds to plant. Now my effort will not be in vain."
Likewise, Uzziah Zira, also from Mayo Bani community, was overjoyed for the AUN-Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the farm inputs. "God will bless you. What you have given us today is 10 kg each, but in a few months, it will become hundreds of kilos."
He thanked FAO and AUN for enhancing their farming system, adding that there were farmers in his locality that for lack of fertilizer or improved seeds could not have good harvests; but with this intervention, they expect bumper harvests."
Grateful Ms. Martha Joel said that surviving the Boko Haram crisis made her see many new happy days in her life, a day like today, she added.
Ahijo Buba, a beneficiary, and Sarkin Fadan who represented Alhaji Ibrahim Buba Jam, the District Head of Mayo Bani, said, “Though we have received similar help in the past, this particular gesture stands out.” He urged the farmers to maximize the opportunity offered by the intervention.
Reported by Noel Sashi