The Katsina government has begun a panel survey to identify communities hit by malnutrition across the 34 local government areas of the state. The Acting Governor of the state, Faruq Lawal-Jobe, said this at the inauguration of the survey, on Tuesday in Katsina. Lawal-Jobe was represented by Alhaji Bashir Tanimu, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. He said the survey would explore prevalence of malnutrition among the under-5 children, and identify household and community level food security status. Read Also: Kano Stakeholders Push for Stronger Financing to Tackle Zero-Dose Children “It will also ascertain communities with incidence of malnutrition, assess household vulnerability to food insecurity, and determine transfer value and minimum expenditure basket of households in Katsina State,” he said. Lawal-Jobe said the state government has procured 400 tractors to support farmers as a long-term intervention in the area of food security. He said the gesture aimed at providing agricultural transformation through mechanised farming and hybrid livestock production. ”The 34 LGAs in the state have also established mechanised centres, and these interventions are expected to double agricultural production by more than four folds, enhance agribusiness and deepen the agricultural value chain. “The state has also consistently since the coming of the administration of Gov. Dikko Radda, provided subsidised fertilisers to farmers in order to ensure bumper harvest. “This assessment will enable us to gather accurate and reliable data, so that we will be able to identify areas of vulnerability and opportunity where our interventions can have the greatest impact,” he said. Lawal-Jobe said the survey would ensure evidence-based policy decisions to address the root cause of food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty, and development targeted interventions to improve nutrition and livelihoods, particularly for the most vulnerable populations. “It will also enable us to monitor progress and evaluate impact ensuring that our efforts are effective and efficient. “The state is not unaware of food insecurity and prevalence for pockets of malnutrition in some communities, as a survey shows global acute malnutrition with a rate peaked at 17.5 per cent in the northern part of the state. “But I have just learned that this rate has dropped to 11.5 per cent . We should be reminded that factors aggravating malnutrition are multifaceted. ”It is pertinent to state here that the state has progressively and steadily increased its matching funds from N200 million in 2023, to N250 million in 2024, and has doubled to N500 million in 2025,” he said. Earlier, Ahmad Filin-Samji, Chairman of the survey team, pledged to discharge their responsibilities deligently. He said the survey was designed as a comprehensive statewide exercise, targeting more than 8,500 households across the 34 LGAs. Filin-Samji said the exercise would be conducted by over 200 trained enumerators, supported by supervisors and data monitors through global standards to ensure accuracy, speed and transparency. The chairman enjoined the enumerators to consider their work as an act of worship, and dedicate themselves to the advancement of humanity. Also, the Statistician General of the state, Prof. Saifullahi Sani, said data collection would help the government to prepare against malnutrition. “I believe the best strategy to address malnutrition is to prevent it, not to allow it to come and be wasting resources to cure it,” he said. Sani commended the stakeholders, and development partners for their support to the state. (NAN)
