By Ibrahim Muhammad
The partnership between the Jigawa State Government and Sasakawa Africa Association is helping to improve food production among smallholder farmers through access to improved seeds, modern farming technologies, training and community demonstration plots.
The partnership, which began under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2024, is aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, strengthening food and nutrition security and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers across the state.
Speaking on the impact of the partnership, the Sasakawa Africa Association Country Director, Dr. Godwin Asher, represented by the Programme Officer, Regenerative Agriculture, Mr. Otene Nathaniel, said the organisation was working with farmers across the 27 local government areas of Jigawa State.
He said the partnership was designed to make agriculture more productive and profitable while helping farmers address challenges associated with climate change.
According to him, the project is focusing on rice, sorghum, cassava and groundnut, which are among the major food crops produced in Jigawa State.
He said the project had so far trained 3,128 smallholder farmers, supported 28 farmer groups, established nine community demonstration plots and 27 community seed multiplication plots to improve farmers’ access to quality seeds and modern agricultural technologies.
One of the beneficiaries, Malam Sani from Kaura community in Taura Local Government Area, said the new intercropping technology introduced through the partnership had significantly increased his farm output.
He said he initially faced resistance from some farmers when the new technology was introduced, but decided to adopt it alongside improved Chakty millet and SAMNUT 24 groundnut varieties.
According to him, the adoption of the technology resulted in a significant increase in his harvest.
“When they first introduced us to the new technology, people were critical and did not want to try it. I accepted the technology and the seeds on my farm, and based on that, I have doubled what I was getting before,” he said.
Sani added that other farmers had now become interested in the technology and improved seed varieties after seeing the results from his farm.
Another beneficiary, Malama Mario, a member of a women’s group benefiting from a rice milling machine, said the support had improved rice processing and the quality of their products.
She said the women were trained on improved methods of parboiling, processing, milling and removing stones from rice using the modern equipment provided through the partnership.
“Today, our rice is competing with foreign rice. People from different places are coming to buy our rice, making us a lot of money,” she said.
She expressed appreciation to Sasakawa Africa Association and the Jigawa State Government for supporting farmers through the partnership.
The Permanent Secretary, Jigawa State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Auwalu Ado Shehu, said the intervention was in line with the state government’s commitment to improving agricultural production and enhancing the livelihoods of citizens.
He said the state government had invested significant resources in agriculture and would continue to support initiatives capable of increasing food production and improving farmers’ incomes.
Dr. Shehu urged Sasakawa Africa Association to sustain its interventions, assuring the organisation of the state government’s continued support towards achieving the objectives of the partnership.
The intervention also places emphasis on inclusion, with women, youths and persons with disabilities expected to benefit from the agricultural programmes.
Through improved seeds, modern farming techniques, farmer training, demonstration plots and better processing facilities, beneficiaries say the Jigawa-Sasakawa partnership is helping to move farmers away from traditional practices towards more productive and commercially oriented agriculture
