Sokoto Fadama farmers allay famine scare, ask for tractors, processing machines

the governor, His Excellency,Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal during pumping machine distribution to Fadama Cooperative Farmers

*    Commend FG, World Bank, state gov

 

Famers in the value chains of rice, sorghum and tomato during the recent supervision visit of the Federal Government( FG)World Bank officials to the Fadama 111 Additional Financing (AF) project sites at  Sokoto state have assured Nigerians  of food security through accelerated production of these crops saying  more support with tractors to reducing drudgery and  machines for processing would enhance quality and commercialization.

Many of the Fadama 111 AF Cooperative beneficiaries met at the sites were so excited with the bumper harvest recorded in the raining reason farming harvest of the project as rice farmers recorded production increase from 40-50 bag of paddy to about 80-90, which was as a result of best agronomics practice given by advisory consultants with the use of quality improved seeds and other inputs given by the project.

 As at November 2016, a total of 93 production clusters consisting of 578 groups of 7,560 farmers comprising of both men and women of 6,486 and 1,084 respectively were approved and implemented with supplied agricultural inputs, water pumps, sprayers, capacity building and ASIC training supply according to the report read by the state coordinator of the project, Dr. Bashi Mustafa saying the project objective is to increase the income earning of farmers beneficiaries on sustainable basis anchored on rice, sorghum and tomato.

In his remark at opening ceremony to the World Bank-FG supervision mission, the state commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Ummaru Nagwari Tambuwal applauded the participation of his state in the Fadama 111 AF saying it has added value to the food security situation as beneficiary thereby commending the efficacy of the project to economic empowerment of the rural farmers.

The villages’ districts’ head and farmers are appreciative of the project, but pointed the need for tractorization and rice processing machines that will enhance market value as drudgery also will be reduced for more production.

The districts heads of Rabah local government and Gonroyo village, Alhaj Bello Abdullahi and Alhaji DongoYaro thanked the FG-World Bank project support and its impact on the empowerment of the rural people in term of income, while they also requested for the up scaling of it through inclusion of more farmers and provision of rice processing machines and tractors to reduce drudgery involved in clearing and harrowing.

Speaking on behalf of rice farmers, Alhaji Altune Mohammed, the Awanji cooperative leader comprising of six production groups with ten in a unit to give 60 people said that the Fadama 111 project was well articulated to meet the need of rural members through bottom-up approach policy that entrenched  ownership and sustainability model through asset acquisition for easy accessibility of produce to market added the need for expansion is very important with provision of feeder roads , processing rice machine and tractors for cultivation thereby reducing drudgery.

Awanji cooperative leader, Alhaji Mohammed pointed out the response of farmers to counterpart repayment is quite encouraging as many more people are showing interest to become  members  asking for more expansion of the project, rice processing machines, tractors and flood diversion so as to prevent massive losses of produce.

He said: “ all processing of the rice is done manually and there is need for the government to scale up the processing of method through provision of the processing machine that his members are ready to utilize effective with readiness to pay counterpart as will enhance selling at a higher of produce at a higher price to other bigger milling companies. 

We are in need of tractors for clearing and harrowing. We do not have access road as you can attest through what you see when coming here. Also the issue of the flood, government should come and help through diversion so as to save million naira worth of our crops that are lost to the flood yearly. Also we want to thank the FG and state government who have given us improved seeds of Faro 44-46 that help to double our yield production from 40-50 tons per hectare to 80-90 with best training from agronomics that are giving us training towards a better yield”

He however commended the down-top approach of the project which has allowed the involvement of the farmers in the decision of what they wanted thereby giving them the sense of ownership and sustainability of the acquisition and asset of the project.

In his speech, the Sokoto state commissioner of agriculture, Alhaji Ummaru Nagwari Tambuwal also joined the farmers to commend the FG - world bank and his governor saying the positive impact of the project in wealth creation among the beneficial farmers is evident with grant benefit of agricultural inputs for 2016 rainy season in rice, sorghum and tomato planting pointed that the upscaling of the programme cannot be better than now with the provision for processing machines and tractorization to reducing drudgery.

Said he,  “today’s occasion is particularly important in the history of our partnership with the World Bank and the FMARD through the National Fadama 111 coordination office, Abuja, where Sokoto state benefited from the sum of N18.6 million in 2015 for four production clusters (PCs) comprising of 20 rice value chain production group and N565,065,510.00 as grants in 2016 in form of agricultural inputs, agricultural equipment, tube wells, agro chemicals, agro advisory services and other auxiliary services to 89 production clusters consisting of 558 production group across the crops value chain of rice, sorhum, and tomato covering the 23 local government for the wet season period. 

This is in no small measure, a huge intervention and contribution to the development of agriculture in the Sokoto state. In the same vein, the Sokoto state project office is expecting to benefit from 129 different forms of processing machines for rice, sorghum and tomato from the National Fadama office, once the business plans are reviewed and approved, which are mainly for the youth and women youth agriculture enterprises development empowerment.  

 In the same package, about 50 kilometers of Fadama access feeder  roads are expected to be rehabilitated and/ or constructed for the benefit of our teeming farmers. It is worthy to commend the effort of the Sokoto state government through the exemplary leadership of the governor, His Excellency,Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, for providing adequate support to laudable programmes of the state ministry of Agriculture and its parastatals”.

Responding,  the National Programme Coordinator, Mr. Tayo Adewunmi who adjudged Sokoto state as one of the best performers in the implementation process with good business plans and services of advisory experts,  thanked the government of the state for her support to the project and promised that all the request from the state towards up scaling commercial food production towards recession reduction would be promptly attended to thereby encouraging the more inclusion of the women and youths into the project.

Adewunmi however  thanked the Governor , the Commissioner, all the district heads, farmers and the team at the state office saying: “ Fadama 111 AF is a movement to integrate rural people into farming with best agronomics practice with embedded ownership principle by the people to checkmating recession and poverty. We are going to support Sokoto in terms of processing, marketing, asset provision like road construction and packaging. Implementation in Sokoto is perfect because the implementation process was not hijacked. Now that you are going to join the cord states of Fadama 111 AF, my advise is that you must keep up the spirit that has made you a reference point to others. We are already working on the approval of your proposal at the National office”