The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) has praised farmers in Jigawa State for embracing modern farming techniques, describing their efforts as vital to achieving food security and driving agricultural transformation in the state.
Deputy Country Director of SAA, Dr. Abdulhamid Gambo, gave the commendation during a two-day media field visit to farming communities in Taura, Dutse, and Birnin Kudu local government areas.
Gambo said SAA’s mission is to promote agricultural value chains across production, processing, nutrition, value addition, and marketing, working closely with smallholder farmers to improve productivity and income.
He disclosed that the association recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jigawa State Government to enhance agronomic practices and agricultural extension services.
“Recently, the state paid $100,000 as counterpart funding to scale up our activities. This year, Sasakawa is targeting 9,000 direct beneficiaries across 34 communities in the state,” Gambo said.
He commended Governor Umar Namadi for his administration’s commitment to strengthening agriculture and supporting farmers, while also lauding local farmers for their resilience and readiness to adopt new technologies.
“We have seen cases where farmers have used their proceeds to invest in other ventures, creating new sources of income beyond agriculture,” he added.
According to Gambo, SAA has helped transform smallholder farming in Jigawa through the supply of improved seeds, fertilizers, and hands-on training designed to boost yields and profitability.
During the field visit, several farmers shared success stories from SAA’s interventions.
Buhari Rabiu, a rice farmer from Chadan in Birnin Kudu, said improved seeds and agronomic training had significantly raised his output. “Before, I used to harvest six bags of rice, but now I get eleven. I don’t think I’ll ever return to the old method,” he said.
Another beneficiary, Safiyanu Ahmadu from Baranda in Dutse, said the program encouraged farmers to form cooperatives and save collectively, though he appealed for rice and groundnut processing machines to ease operations and add value to their produce.
The State Technical Adviser to the Governor, Dr. Saifullahi Umar, commended SAA for its partnership with Jigawa’s farmers and reaffirmed the government’s support for the association’s agricultural development goals.