Over 200,000 farmers are to be engaged in Pioneering Regenerative Agriculture projects introduced by Dantata foods in partnership with the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office of the British Government under its Agricultural sector intervention LINKS Project.
Sanusi Bature, the General Manager, Corporate Services of Dantata foods, in a statement on Saturday explained that the farmers would be engaged on a long-term basis in Kano, Cross River, Jigawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Katsina, Kebbi, Benue, Niger and Plateau states.
Regenerative Agriculture is a farming and grazing practices that reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity– resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle.
According to Bature, the project was introduced in partnership with the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office of the British Government under its Agricultural sector intervention LINKS Project.
The United Kingdom based innovative and Agric-technology firm RegenFARM has also introduced a pioneering Regenerative Agriculture project in Nigeria.
“This tripartite partnership is aimed at increasing quality food production, enhancing export opportunities of Nigeria’s Agricultural commodities and improving the soil fertility, nutrients content and organic matter.
“A technology platform has been developed and it is designed to assist with the management of various food value chains, offering complete traceability from farmers to end users.
“It is a fact that Nigeria faces the challenges of soil degradation through flooding, erosion and continued cultivation which led to lower productivity of farm produce in the country.
“The consistent application of inorganic fertilizer, pesticides and weed control chemicals have been discovered to have negative implications on the sustainability of farm lands over the years.
“With a financing commitment from the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the prime Anchor Borrowers Programme, the consortium of private sector and government bodies would roll out an innovative approach to support smallholder farmers on the new techniques of Regenerative Agriculture practices in the country.’’
He said that in a partnership meeting, the Managing Director of RegenFARM, Mr Jason Haywarda, said the new scheme would be an all-embracing opportunity for the Agro-processing industry in the country.
According to him, the smallholder farmer out-growers productivity, profitability and resilience to climate change will be greatly enhanced.
Bature said: “the Chairman/CEO Dantata Foods and Allied Company Limited Alhaji Tajudeen Dantata, confirmed that the partnership has already galvanized access to markets in the UK and other parts of Europe for the organic commodities produced under the Regenerative Agriculture practices.”
