In a strategic move to bolster food production and improve rural livelihoods, the member representing Darazo-Ganjuwa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Mansur Manu Soro, has donated a Massey Ferguson 375 tractor and comprehensive farm input packages to local farmers ahead of the 2025 farming season.
The Lawmaker tractor donation, which took place on Saturday in Bauchi State, marked the launch of the Darazo-Ganjuwa Farm Mechanisation Support Initiative, aimed at equipping registered farmers in the constituency with tools to enhance productivity, reduce manual labour, and expand cultivation.
Addressing the beneficiaries during the ceremony, Hon. Soro stated that the initiative reflects his consistent efforts to transform agricultural practices in the region since assuming office. “This donation complements the same brand of tractor facilitated in 2020 when we registered the farmers’ association with appropriate government bodies,” he said.
Alongside the mechanisation support, the lawmaker also rolled out the first phase of the MMS Young Millionaires in Agriculture programme — a youth-targeted agricultural empowerment initiative designed to create sustainable wealth through agribusiness. Under this scheme, 125 young people were selected and equipped with the necessary resources to cultivate one acre of paddy rice each.
Each beneficiary received four bags of NPK 15-15-15 fertiliser, 15kg of Faro-69 improved rice seeds, four litres of pesticides and herbicides, a N20,000 farm clearance fee, and a knapsack spraying machine. The lawmaker disclosed that the project aims to yield at least 40 bags of paddy rice per participant, with a market value estimated at N2 million per harvest.
“This programme is more than an intervention — it’s a roadmap to economic independence and food security,” Soro said. “The second phase will follow a detailed evaluation of the first phase, guided by our farm extension officers.”
According to agricultural experts in the state, the lawmaker’s initiative is timely and aligns with the national push to bridge Nigeria’s rice production gap, which is currently pegged at a deficit of 3.5 million metric tonnes annually. By empowering youth and providing mechanisation support, stakeholders believe the programme will improve yield per hectare, boost food availability, and reduce rural poverty.
Reacting to the development, Malam Ibrahim Usman, a beneficiary from Ganjuwa LGA, expressed gratitude. “Before now, access to quality inputs was a major challenge. With this support, I am confident of a good harvest this year,” he said.
Agricultural extension agents involved in the programme also commended the structure and accountability built into the intervention, noting that every input is tagged and distributed under close supervision.
Soro, who has gained recognition for his constituency development projects, reiterated his commitment to ensuring that agriculture remains a viable source of income for his constituents. “Darazo-Ganjuwa Federal Constituency is blessed with arable land, and it is only right that we harness it to empower our people,” he said.
As the rainy season sets in, the intervention is expected to catalyze a new wave of youth engagement in agriculture and improve the overall output of local farmers. Observers say if sustained, the initiative could serve as a model for replicable community-based agricultural programmes across Nigeria.