OCP Africa inaugurates laboratory for 10,000 maize farmers in Bauchi

AS part of efforts to boost agricultural sector in the state, Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, has flagged-off OCP School Lab, an innovative programme of OCP Africa, aimed at increasing the yield and income of 10,000 smallholder maize farmers in 70 communities across the state.

OCP School Lab which is both a school and a laboratory, operates in a caravan of trucks, provides mobile interactive training sessions on good agricultural practices for rural farmers, using live demos and animated videos.

The lab, manned by trained personnel, offers these farmers on-site soil testing to determine the peculiar needs of the soil and fertilizer recommendations.

The program also advices farmers on the rate of fertilizer use, and the best time for its application. This initiative is the first of its kind launched by a fertilizer producer in Africa, bringing latest soil testing innovations and effective agronomical training to serve the needs of farmers across the continent.

While speaking during the flag-off ceremony, held at Nabordo, Toro Local Government Area of the state, Governor Abubakar commended OCP Group for the warm reception the company gave him and his delegation when they recently visited its headquarters in Morocco.

While expressing his appreciation, the Governor said “This extensive agricultural soil testing is not only happening for the first time in the state, but it also promises to significantly lift up the productivity of rural smallholder farmers. Bauchi is mainly an agrarian state, and one of the major developmental agenda of our government is to transform the fortunes of farmers in the state”.

Speaking on behalf of Mr. Karim Lotfi Senhadji, the CEO of OCP Group, the Country Manager of the company in Nigeria, Mr. Caleb Usoh, thanked Governor Abubakar, saying that the biggest reception and encouragement that his company has benefitted from, so far, has come from the Government of Bauchi State.