Chukwu David 
At least 3,110 graduates have applied for the Young Farmers Agricultural Revolution Program initiated by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, across the seven States of the North West.
A statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Deputy President of the Senate, Ismail Mudashir, revealed that Kano State, which has 44 Local Government Areas, recorded the highest number of applicants with 998 submissions.
According to the statement, under the Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution in the North West (BIARN), the Deputy Senate President plans to empower 558 young farmers across the region.
Applications for the scheme, which opened on March 7, 2025, officially closed on March 21, 2025.
The program, implemented in collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), will provide successful applicants with loans ranging from N1 million to N5 million to invest in farming this year.
Part of the statement reads: “This 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.”
A breakdown of applications by State shows that Jigawa ranked second with 590 applicants, followed by Katsina (455), Kaduna (397), Zamfara (240), Sokoto (221), and Kebbi (209), which recorded the lowest number of applicants.
Following the screening of applications, successful candidates will be contacted via the phone numbers and email addresses provided in their forms.
The program, chaired by Bashir Mohammed Fagge, a Professor of animal science, will be launched in April ahead of the 2025 farming season.
Under the scheme, three graduates will be selected from each of the 186 Local Government Areas across the seven States to participate in the program, cultivating either rice or maize.
In total, 558 graduates will receive financial support under the initiative.
Barau Jibrin emphasized that the program was conceived to revive the agricultural sector, which remains the mainstay of the North’s economy, aligning with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security.
