The Sasakawa Africa Association Nigeria, in partnership with AGRA, has distributed farm inputs to 7,400 farmers in Niger State to support dry-season farming.
The Country Director of Sasakawa Africa Association Nigeria, Dr. Godwin Atser, stated in Minna on Friday that the first phase of farm inputs had been distributed to farmer groups for dry-season farming.
Atser, who was represented by the Deputy Country Director, Dr. Abdulhamid Gambo, said the items distributed included four solar pumps, 15 petrol water pumps, three parboiling pots, fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides.
He explained that the distribution would enable farmers’ groups to engage in dry-season farming and reduce production costs.
“This initiative will support 7,400 farmers across clusters in 17 local government areas to engage in irrigation farming,” he said.
He emphasized that the aim of the distribution was to improve farmers’ productivity through good agronomic practices. He added that farmers had already been trained on major farming operations.
“We are also supporting women farmers in rice production and processing by providing them with false-bottom parboiling pots to promote hygienic parboiling practices,” he added.
Also speaking, the Programme Officer for AGRA, Mr. Godswill Aguyi, stated that the inputs were designed to increase farmers’ productivity and income, enable them to farm two seasons per year, and promote sustainable agricultural practices.
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“We are going green, and since we now have technology that can help farmers without relying on high-cost fuel, it is important to encourage people to adopt this kind of equipment,” he said.
According to him, with the high cost of fuel, solar-based irrigation pumps are expected to provide relief to farmers and promote environmental sustainability.
In their remarks, Mrs. Cecilia Usman from the Ebosoko Women Society Group, Mokwa, and Mr. Isah Ladan expressed appreciation to Sasakawa and AGRA for the farm inputs.
They stated that the inputs would help them increase their yields, adding that the equipment had come at the right time and would reduce their production costs.
This intervention is part of the AGRA-Niger State Consortium Project, tagged “Improving Farmers’ Resilience and Upscaling Productivity, Incomes, and Livelihoods in Rice, Maize, Soybean, Cowpea, and Onion Value Chains.”
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