FOOD SECURITY: MAIKALANGU FLAGS OFF 2026 FARMING SEASON, DISTRIBUTES FARM INPUTS TO FARMERS
By: Wisdom Acka
Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, has officially flagged off the 2026 farming season with a massive distribution of agricultural inputs to local farmers, calling on residents to embrace farming as a lasting solution to food scarcity across the council.
Speaking on Thursday, 17 September, 2026 at the flag-off ceremony at the Apo Town Hall under the theme “Integrated Farming for All,” Maikalangu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to positioning agriculture as a vital pathway to food security, economic opportunity, wealth creation, and sustainable grassroots development.
The council boss emphasized that agriculture extends beyond basic crop planting to encompass a complete value chain including livestock, fisheries, agroforestry, and resource recycling.
He urged young people and women to view agriculture as a viable business and an avenue for innovation and prosperity.
Maikalangu noted that grassroots governance must directly touch ordinary lives, and called on traditional institutions, community leaders, agricultural associations, and private investors to partner with the council to transform local food production, stressing that food security remains a collective responsibility.
He also urged residents and farmers to support President Bola Tinubu for a second term and back Philip Aduda for the FCT Senate under the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, stating that strong ties with the federal government would yield greater dividends of democracy for the council.
Addressing the sustainability of the initiative, the Council’s Acting Head of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Joseph Kambai, assured that council officials will actively monitor utilization of the distributed items to ensure maximum impact.
In his response, the Chairman of Farmers in AMAC, Emmanuel Danladi, expressed gratitude to the council chairman for the support, noting that the inputs would significantly boost local crop yields.
He also appealed to the administration to address underlying issues contributing to farmer-herder conflicts within AMAC, including instituting a routine parley between the two groups for permanent peace to prevail.
Abuja Digest reports that items distributed include 375 knapsack sprayers, 65 cartons of agrochemicals, 35 irrigation pumping machine sets, 200 hoes, 100 cutlasses, 50 pairs of boots, 120 hand gloves, 30 wheelbarrows, and 58 cartons of organic fertilizer.
For livestock and aquaculture development, beneficiaries received 440 chick trays, 447 drinkers, 680 feeders, and 10 tarpaulin fish ponds.
