From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
No fewer than 706 farmers and 355 extension agents from Jigawa state, have been trained on modern wheat farming system by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security.
The training was facilitated by NIRSAL to support food security agenda of present administration aimed at bringing expertise and experience to bear on Nigeria’s pursuit of a bumper wheat harvest this year.
Speaking at the flagging off of the training, the managing director NIRSAL Alhaji Abbas Umar Masanawa said, the program is under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP)/Jigawa Wheat Cluster Project.
He explained that, the beneficiaries include the cluster leaders from Kiyawa, Birnin Kudu, Ringim, Hadejia, and Kazaure as part of the first phase of the training sessions, which were held in four of the five emirates in Jigawa State.
According to him, the participants are expected to transmit the knowledge gained along with the training materials received to the members of their respective clusters.
He maintained that, NIRSAL Plc, established to de-risk agriculture and facilitate commercial finance for agribusiness in Nigeria, has developed several models for de-risking primary production in what it considers “the upstream segment of the agricultural value chain”.
“On our part, we are showing our readiness to support Jigawa State, and all other states, to walk the talk of the government. Here”, he continued, “we are contributing our expertise by preparing these extension agents and farmers to make success out of this collective endeavour for Jigawa’s and Nigeria’s sakes.”
