The Director-General,
Jigawa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (JICCIMA), Mr Abdullahi Sulaimanm, said the empowerment of women in Jigawa State was the state’s effort to diversify its economy and engaged women in goatery:
According to him, the programme will also go a long way to reduce poverty and reliance on allocation from the Federal Government.
“Agriculture and mining are two sectors that are receiving several and serious attention from the current government in the state.
“Jigawa government has put in place several programmes aimed at achieving this diversification.
The state provided goats to women in its goats multiplication farming programme aimed at eradicating poverty from the state.
“These will be sold to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait just to mention a few.
“The initiative is expected to bring 18,000 women out of poverty as 47 per cent of the population are women,” he said.
Sulaiman told The Tide that other areas the state was invigorating its economy is the facilitation of private sector investment that includes the Dangote Rice Farming and the Sesame Cluster Farming programme.
He said that Dangote rice farming has a robust out-grower scheme covering a piloted area of 8,000 hectares and it involves 5,000 farmers launched in Hago village of Kafin-Hausa Local Government Area.
Sulaiman said the scheme would offer the farmers the opportunity to be provided with quality farm inputs; build their capacity in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), leading to higher productivity in addition to easy access to credit and market.
He added that for the sesame cluster, the government provided improved seeds free of charge to the participating farmers, in addition to technical support, which would result in higher productivity and income.
Sulaiman said the new cluster farming programme was aimed at transferring improved farming techniques to farmers in Jigawa.
“Farmers are to be provided with all the required inputs including mechanisation on credit payable at harvest.
“Arrangement has also been put in place to facilitate easy access to market or up-takers.
” The state is partnering with Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) to ensure successful implementation of cluster farming programme.
“The partnership entails training of extension staff and establishment of a portal for unemployed graduates in the state.
” It is also planned that the partnership will facilitate access to agricultural credit from agricultural entrepreneurs in subsequent cluster farming activities,” he said.
Sulaiman said plan has been concluded for the recapitalisation of Jigawa Agricultural Sopply Company (JASCO) to the tune of N200,000,000 to enable the company acquire mechanised farming equipment and agro-chemical at competitive prices to farmers in the state.
The director-general said the fund would be used to mop up the excess farm produce and assist in stabilizing prices of farm produce at the period of glut in favour of the teaming farmers.
Sulaiman added that the state has developed a new fertiliser distribution system that would help genuine farmers acquire fertiliser in proportion to their farmland.