Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano
Jigawa state governor, Alhaji Umar Namadi, has concluded plans to cultivate 150,000 hectares of wheat in 2024 dry season farming.
This is just as a non-governmental organisation under the aegis of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), has entered into a partnership with wheat farmers in Kano, as part of its efforts to assist Nigeria to cut reliance on wheat importation
Governor Namadi of Jigawa, who spoke in Dutse when he received an audience, the Africa Development Bank(AfDB) delegation, also disclosed a plan to expand the programme to other crops for the betterment of the state and the country at large.
In a statement, the governor said the state was determined to improve food security in the state and the county in general.
“Gov. Namadi further stated that the only way to move people out of poverty is through the development of agriculture”
The state governor thumbed up for President Tinubu for initiating various agricultural intervention programs since the inception of his administration,” the statement said.
It further explained that “the initiative of feed the African initiative established by the African Development Bank, assuring that government will monitor all the inputs interventions to ensure adequate use for the attainment of greater Jigawa.”
Leader of the delegation, Dr Martings Fregnen, said the visit was aimed at intimating the governor on the activities of the bank to agree on the areas of continued collaboration.
Fregnen said the National Agricultural Development Scheme will be supported in the areas of irrigated land, demonstration to the farmers, financing, and providing opportunities for the Young people for the development of the region.
Other key stakeholders appreciate the support and commitments of the Jigawa state government and assured them willingness to maintain the cordial relationship between the two parties.
Jigawa state was allocated 40,000 hectares of land for wheat farming under the initiative to enhance food security in Nigeria where over 10,000 farmers are supported with agricultural inputs for effective farming.
Meanwhile, non-governmental organisation under the aegis of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), has entered into a partnership with wheat farmers in Kano, as part of its efforts to assist Nigeria to cut reliance on wheat importation.
The Head of TAAT, Mr, Solomon Gizaw, disclosed this during an inspection tour of some wheat farms yesterday in Kano.
Gizaw said that Nigeria has all it takes to produce and feed itself and the rest of African countries if its farmers could get the right policy support, technology and the right market link to the processors.
He said: “In Nigeria, we are seeing a great opportunity for Nigeria to be self-sufficient in wheat farming in the coming few years.
“Nigeria today produces only five per cent of the wheat consumers, and imports the remaining 95 per cent from foreign countries worth over $5 billion.
“We in Africa, we have the technology, land, water, and the people. If we bring together and work together, Nigeria can feed itself and the rest of the African countries.
“In Africa today, we have several high-yielding wheat varieties that are giving a high yield of six to seven tonnes per hectares. But today in Nigeria, the wheat production is not exceeding two to three per hectare. You can imagine.
“With one farmland, we can increase the productivity by two to three folds. So the African Development Bank is working with the Nigerian government to expand wheat. And the government has committed to take these varieties.”
Speaking during the tour, one of the large-scale wheat growers and processors in Kano State, Mr. Mannir Dan’agundi, has called for consistency in government policies to boost agricultural production in the country.
“It is about commitment; it is about the consistency of the policy. Once we do that and we are committed, Nigeria has the land, the water, and the people to do what it is supposed to do. “And with our population of over 200 million people, it is imperative for us to ensure that we have something with which we can even feed ourselves. So, I am very much hopeful with what the government is doing, and I think we need to do more,” he said.
