By Usman Muhammed Zaria
Jigawa State Governor, Malam Umar Namadi, says his administration is laying strong and sustainable foundations to transform agriculture into a productive, technology-driven and commercially viable sector that can improve livelihoods and create opportunities.
The governor stated this on Friday evening at the launch of the Nigeria AgriConnect initiative and the CGIAR System Board Dinner held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.
Namadi said the state’s agriculture-first strategy under the 12-Point Agenda for Greater Jigawa was translating into investments and institutional reforms aimed at increasing productivity, strengthening value chains and making agriculture more resilient and profitable.
He said Jigawa remained a leading producer of rice, wheat and sesame, adding that the government was expanding irrigation and dry-season farming, strengthening extension services and extending mobile veterinary services across all 287 wards.
According to him, the state has established the Agricultural Transformation Agency and the Ministry of Livestock Development to provide focused leadership, coordination and accountability in the sector.
He disclosed that Jigawa had established 60 mechanisation centres equipped with 400 tractors and 60 combine harvesters, while the number of agricultural extension agents had increased to nearly 2,000.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Hamisu Mohammed Gumel, Namadi said the state had also partnered on an agribusiness incubation programme aimed at developing 10,000 entrepreneurs and supporting the emergence of at least 500 new small and medium-sized enterprises.
The governor explained that the initiative was designed to move agriculture beyond subsistence production by connecting farmers with technology, finance, processing facilities, markets and viable business opportunities.
Namadi said the Jigawa State Agricultural Research Institute was also being repositioned to ensure that research addresses practical challenges confronting farmers and the wider agricultural sector.
He said the research would focus on seed systems, soil fertility, irrigation, livestock productivity, post-harvest management and agro-processing, while research scholarships and specialist training, including MSc and PhD programmes, would strengthen the human capacity needed to sustain the transformation.
The governor said the state’s partnership with IITA would provide a platform for applying science, research and innovation to Jigawa’s agricultural challenges and opportunities.
He said the partnership would focus on improved varieties of maize, soybean and cassava, soil health and mapping, stronger seed systems, pest and disease management, competitive value chains and youth-led agribusiness.
Umar Namadi said the ultimate objective was to ensure that research reaches farmers, improved technologies increase productivity, and increased production is linked to processing and markets to create viable businesses and decent jobs for young people.
He expressed the state’s commitment to working with IITA, CGIAR, the Federal Government, development partners, financial institutions and investors to translate research and innovation into measurable improvements in agricultural productivity and livelihoods.
The governor invited the leadership of the CGIAR System Board and other partners to visit Jigawa to see firsthand the transformation taking place in the state’s agricultural sector.
Editing By Yusuf Zubairu
