FG Launches Modern 160-Shop Vegetable Market in Gombe to Boost Food Supply Chain

(Gombe Map. Photo by Punch News)

The Federal Government has inaugurated a modern vegetable market in Kwadon, Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, as part of efforts to strengthen market access for farmers and boost the agricultural value chain.

The market, comprising 160 shops, was developed by the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, while the Gombe State Government provided complementary infrastructure including perimeter fencing, road access, solar-powered streetlights and water facilities.

Speaking at the handover ceremony on Tuesday, NALDA Executive Secretary Cornelius Adebayo described the project as a model of federal and state collaboration, noting that the authority had also completed irrigation facilities and cold storage infrastructure at three locations across the state to support year-round vegetable production and ensure a steady supply of produce to the market.

He also disclosed that Gombe State would become the second state in the North-East to benefit from the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Mega Farm Project, after Bauchi State.

Governor Muhammadu Yahaya commended the collaborative effort behind the project and revealed that a company had already acquired land near the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park, located about 15 kilometres from the market, to establish a tomato processing factory completing what he described as the full agricultural value chain from farm to industry to market.

The governor also disclosed that a proposed superhighway linking Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe and Borno states had been approved to pass through the area, which he said would further open up economic opportunities for residents.

The market was commissioned by All Progressives Congress National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, who described it as central to President Bola Tinubu’s focus on food security and rural development.