The Katsina State Government has commenced the distribution of 90,000 bags of assorted grains to vulnerable households across the state’s 34 Local Government Areas, LGAs, to cushion the impact of economic hardship and strengthen food security.
Governor Dikko Radda launched the distribution on Wednesday during a ceremony in Kaita Local Government Area, saying the intervention was part of his administration’s efforts to ensure that government support reaches citizens at the grassroots.
Radda said the programme reflected his administration’s commitment to making government interventions accessible to communities and improving the welfare of vulnerable residents.
“Our philosophy has remained clear: development must reach the grassroots, and the people must feel the presence and impact of government in their communities and daily lives,” he said.
The governor said the latest intervention formed part of a broader programme aimed at supporting vulnerable households across Katsina.
He recalled that the government had previously supported women involved in akara and pap businesses across the state’s 361 wards, providing food items and financial assistance during Ramadan.
Radda also disclosed that the government had supported 7,220 widows across the state, with 20 beneficiaries selected from each ward and provided with 25kg bags of rice and N10,000 in cash assistance.
He acknowledged the contribution of the Aliko Dangote Foundation to Katsina’s food support initiatives, particularly through the distribution of rice to vulnerable residents across communities.
According to him, the state had previously distributed another 90,000 bags of grains, comprising 30,000 bags each of millet, maize and guinea corn.
He said lessons from the previous exercise had helped the government improve its grassroots distribution system, particularly through the Community Level Committees, CLCs.
Radda stressed that the objective was not merely to distribute more food items but to improve targeting, strengthen accountability and ensure that assistance reached the people for whom it was intended.
The governor, however, noted that food palliatives alone could not provide a lasting solution to food insecurity. He said his administration was therefore pursuing a two-pronged approach that combines immediate relief for vulnerable households with investments designed to strengthen the productive capacity of communities.
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According to him, the strategy includes investments in agriculture, irrigation, community development, youth empowerment and women’s economic participation.
Radda said the government had provided farmers with subsidized fertilizer and other agricultural inputs while expanding irrigation through solar and petrol-powered pumps, tube wells and other farm support facilities.
He explained that the interventions were aimed at increasing food production, reducing production costs, creating rural employment and improving household incomes.
“These investments are deliberately designed to strengthen food production because the most sustainable response to food insecurity is to empower our farmers to produce more food, reduce the cost of production, create rural employment, and improve household incomes,” he said.
The governor said the grain distribution and agricultural programmes were complementary, providing immediate assistance to vulnerable families while helping communities become more self-reliant.
On the distribution process, Radda directed officials involved in the exercise to ensure fairness, transparency, accountability and inclusiveness.
He warned that personal relationships, social status or other considerations must not prevent deserving citizens from benefiting from the programme.
The governor also urged local government authorities, traditional and religious leaders, CLCs and other stakeholders to ensure that the exercise was peaceful, orderly and properly implemented.
He described the CDP’s grassroots structures across the 361 wards as an important mechanism for identifying community needs, coordinating government interventions and providing feedback.
Radda assured residents that his administration recognized the economic difficulties facing many families and would continue to deploy available resources responsibly to address their needs.
He said the government would also continue to invest in agriculture, education, healthcare, water supply, community infrastructure, youth development and women empowerment to create sustainable opportunities for citizens.
“Our vision is a productive Katsina State where farmers prosper, young people find opportunities, women participate meaningfully in the economy, and vulnerable citizens receive the support they need,” Radda said.
Earlier, the State Coordinator of the Community Development Programme, CDP, Kamaladden Kabir, said the distribution demonstrated the administration’s commitment to bringing government interventions closer to the people.
Kabir said CDP structures across the 361 wards would help ensure that the grains reached residents who genuinely needed the support.
He explained that priority would be given to vulnerable households, widows, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, low-income families and other deserving citizens.
Kabir urged CLC members, local government officials, traditional rulers and religious leaders to ensure that every bag of grain reached its intended beneficiary.
He also warned against the diversion, hoarding or sale of the grains, stressing that the distribution exercise would be monitored and properly documented.
NAN
