Sasakawa Africa association support smallholder farmers groups, extension agents in Niger state
Sasakawa Africa Association, has distributed support items to smallholder farmers groups and Niger state Agricultural and Development Program (ADP) to increase productivity in Niger state.
The Country Director, Sasakawa Africa Association Nigeria, Dr Godwin Atser, said this at the distribution of the items in Minna.
Atser who was represented by Dr Abdulhamid Gambo, Deputy Country Director, said the distribution was part of the organisation’s commitment to improve farmers’ resilience and upscaling productivity.
“To improve incomes and livelihood in rice, maize, soybean, cowpea, and vegetable value chains program in Niger, which is funded by AGRA.
“We are working with 300,000 smallholder farmers that are into five commodity value chains of rice, maize, cow pea, soyabean and onion chains,” he said.
He expressed the organization’s dedication to supporting the ADP and reiterated its role in leading a consortium of partners in the implementation of the project.
The country director assured continued support to the ADP to strengthen its capacity for efficient service delivery.
He said the items aimed to benefit individuals, groups and extension service delivery system through zonal offices of Niger state Agricultural and Mechanisation Development Authority (NAMDA) in Bida, Minna and Kontagora.
The items distributed includes; 50 units of plastic tables and chairs; 30 units to six women groups, 10 units to NAMDA, and 10 units to Niger Ministry for Agriculture.
Others were three units of wooden office desks, three units of whiteboard and duster,
three units of 32-inch TV sets, three units of desktop computers and three units of 500 GB external hard drives.
Also were fifty units of wooden pallets, 25 each to aggregation centres in Wushishi and Kontagora, five units of humidity testers (moisture meters).
Similarly, weighing scales for the Wushishi, Kontagora, Minna, Kuta and Bida and fifteen units of 3,000 litres GP tanks were distributed to fifteen rice processing groups in the state.
In his remarks, Dr Matthew Ahmed, Permanent Secretary, Niger Ministry for Agriculture, commended Sasakawa Africa Association for being a valuable partner in agricultural development.
He said the support of Sasakawa Africa Association through the AGRA Niger consortium project had been invaluable in complementing the efforts of the Niger government.
Malama Fatima Abdullahi, from Galadima Ibrahim Tako Women Corporative, appreciated Sasakawa Africa association for, saying the item would boost their productivity.
