No fewer than 1,699 small holder farmers in Kano State participated in the agricultural support programme initiated by the Agro Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS).
Mr Hassan Ibrahim, the APPEALS’ Project Coordinator in charge of Kano State, stated this during an assessment tour of participating agricultural agencies on Thursday in Kano.
Ibrahim disclosed that the beneficiaries were among the 3,399 small and medium scale farmers trained under the programme in the State.
He said the farmers were exposed to the application of modern techniques in rice, tomato and wheat cultivation to encourage productivity and improved their livelihood.
The Coordinator said that the beneficiaries received farming implements from the programme, adding that the project focused at building farmer enterprising skills to encourage processing, value addition and provide market for the produce.
Ibrahim noted that there was gaps in processing and marketing of the produce in the state, hence the need for more attention.
He said: “And the only way we can do it is to identify the gaps in terms of production, processing and marketing of the three value chain.
“When we identify the gaps, we then source for the improved technology to bridge it.
“Our partnership with Sasakawa is based on component four of the project which focused on collaboration with agricultural institutes in possession of improved technologies.
“Our target is to see how we can promote productivity through technological demonstration and adoption of the technology.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that assessment team visited the state’s Ministry of Agriculture, Sasakwa, Kano Agricultural Development and Rural Development Agency (KNARDA) as well as other related agricultural organisations in the state.
The visit is designed to appraise the level of successes recorded in the implementation of the programme in the State.
Dr Mohammed Jobdi, the APPEALS’ National Coordinator, said the aim of the visit was to assess the level of implementation of the action plans on improve farmer capacity for improved productivity.
Jobdi, represented by Dr Salisu Garba, the National Operations Manager of the programme, said the visit would also facilitate interaction and evaluation of impacts of the programme on farmers.
“This is also to ensure that the beneficiaries are genuine farmers on the three selected value chains – rice, tomato and wheat.
“We are going to the field to interact with the beneficiaries so that we know the level of their progress and what they see on the project, it will enable us to identify their needs.
“This will increase their productivity for food security and improve livelihood as well as promote export of agricultural produce,” he said. Jobdi commended the project coordinating office in the state for their commitment and dedication.
