By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
At least 3,110 graduates have applied for the Young Farmers Agricultural Revolution program of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, in the seven North West states.
This was contained in a statement by Ismail Mudashir, the Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity, in Abuja yesterday.
He said that under the Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution in the North West (BIARN), the Deputy President of the Senate is set to empower 558 young farmers in the seven states in the North West. Applications for the scheme.
He said the application portal opened on March 7, 2025, and closed on Friday, March 21, 2025.
The programme, he said, was being implemented in collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA).
The statement added that the successful applicants would receive loans ranging from N1m to N5m to invest in farming this year.
He said the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu GCFR’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to achieve food security and create employment opportunities for the country’s teeming youth.
He said Kano, which has 44 local government areas, topped the chart of applicants with 998.
The statement read in part, “The state-by-state analysis of the applicants showed that Jigawa came second with 590, Katsina 455, Kaduna 397, Zamfara 240, Sokoto 221, and Kebbi came last with 209.
“After screening the applications, successful applicants will be contacted next week via the contacts they provided in their forms.
“The programme, chaired by Professor Bashir Mohammed Fagge, a professor of animal science, will be launched next month before this year’s farming season.
“Three graduates will be selected from the 186 local government areas in the seven states to participate in the program to cultivate rice or maize. In all, 558 graduates will be given the loan in the seven states.”
It quoted the Deputy President of the Senate as saying that the programme was conceived to revive the agricultural sector, the mainstay of the North’s economy, in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security.
