FG boosts production of wheat, rice production in Kano -Agric Commissioner

The Kano state Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuma, has said that the federal government is prepared to boost the production of wheat, rice and Tomatoes in the state with a view to divert the nation’s economy from oil and provide gainful employment to the youths through agriculture.

He said the state had made this a priority by making sure quality seeds are available as they are the key when it comes to planting and have been bought for the state farmers at affordable prices.

Gawuma stressed that; “quality seeds at affordable prices are been bought for the farmers for the first instance, after the launch of the Wheat production or the planting season in Kebbi state by President Mohammadu Buhari, our governor launch the same program with the Minister for Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe in Kano where the farmers are given interest free loan of 100 Billion Naira to procure seeds and distributed to farmers to be paid back after production with seeds to encourage them.

“We used our experts with the encouragement and help of one of the major partner in terms of Wheat production, the Lake Chad research institute.

These farmers were able to grow their wheat and pay the state government with seed. Before doing that, the state gave a guarantee for the farmers to procure the cleaning sorting and grading machine which are in our ware houses. They do that for value addition to wheat.

“In 2016, we cultivated over 10,000 hectares but this year because of the intervention and the programs of wheat with the contribution of the federal government, we have cultivated over 30,000 hectares and that is because when after production, we pay the state with the seeds and the state government encouraged more farmers to come and when they come, we give them those seeds again as loan and this time around we have to add more money because more farmers have come into it”, he said.

Nasiru Gawuma emphasized on the assistance given to farmers in the state to encourage production maintained that 50 Million Naira was given for procurement of farm implements in addition to the N100 Billion that was earlier given at the beginning of the year planting season.

“There is another addition of N50 million that we gave to farmers for the procurement as that is one of the main challenges of wheat production in Nigeria.

This challenge is well known even by the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, who has discussed severally about this with my governor and the governor of kebbi state on how we are going to encourage the issue of our production of quality seeds for wheat. These are some of the things we did in Kano that has encouraged so much production in wheat and rice.

“The tomato aspect, Kano state by the coming of the incumbent governor has facilitated the beginning of production of Dangote tomato Production Company which has been there for a very long time because of so many reasons they couldn’t start production.

“Dangote and the state government facilitated an innovative platform on tomato production in the state which is a committee comprising of various stake holders on tomato and they started production.

Along the line, there was problem of Tuta-Absoluta which is a pest that brought about a lot of lost in tomato not only in Kano but all over the country precisely, Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna and some other states.

“The state government in its own effort of supporting the farmers approved the procurement of seeds, pesticides and other inputs worth 252 million to the tomato farmers.

We are working on the issue of pricing of Dangote tomato factory. Pricing is something that is very important to the farmers.

There are two seasons in the live circle of tomatoes, when they are abandoned and they become cheap and when they are scarce and become expensive. We have to align the price whereby the farmers will be happy and Dangote will be happy.

That is what we are working on now, government is fully part of it.

“In Kano, we have the best irrigation facilities in the country. We are utilizing that and the governor is on ground to see that we do not have any problem in that regard.

We have almost completed the drilling of 1000 tube wells across the 44 local government areas in the state and so many other things that we have done to encourage farmers to embrace agriculture in the state.”