Jigawa, SASAKAWA Collaboration Uplifts Rural Farmers

The collaboration between the Jigawa State Government and SASAKAWA Africa to promote modern farming techniques among rural farmers has begun yielding positive results, as testified by local farmers across the state.

The Governor Namadi-led administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SASAKAWA to extend its programme in the state until 2029. This move aligns with the government’s policy and commitment to collaborate with any partner aimed at transforming the state’s agricultural sector.

The current Jigawa State Government has prioritised agriculture as the mainstay for building a sustainable local economy, and the state possesses significant comparative advantages to achieve this goal.

Since assuming office, Governor Namadi has initiated various projects, programmes, and interventions to build farmers’ capacity and ensure modern techniques and farm implements are both affordable and accessible to farmers in the state.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Alhaji Auwal Ado Shehu, stated that the state government is fully committed to creating an enabling environment for all stakeholders to contribute to reforming the agricultural sector.

SASAKAWA is one of the reliable partners that has consistently supported Jigawa State in improving its agricultural sector, making it viable and productive for job creation, food security, poverty eradication, and sustainable development.

The impact of SASAKAWA’s intervention is visible, accessible, and verifiable. Rural farmers themselves provide ample evidence of this.

During a testimony on the impact of the SASAKAWA intervention, Malam Hambali Yahaya, a 55-year-old farmer from Chuwasu community in Taura Local Government, said the new farming techniques taught by SASAKAWA have broadened their understanding of smart and best agricultural practices.

Hambali explained that SASAKAWA officials taught them how to plant crops, produce and apply organic manure, apply fertiliser correctly, and access quality seeds and other farm inputs.

“We started with demonstrations, and they consistently followed us to the field for monitoring to ensure we implemented what we were taught,” he said.

“Alhamdulillah, today all the farms where we applied the new techniques look significantly better, with the potential to produce higher yields than crops planted using traditional methods.”

“Not only members of the farmers committee, but farmers from neighbouring villages are now coming to ask for guidance on how to adopt these new methods introduced through the SASAKAWA-Jigawa State Government collaboration,” he added.

“We are grateful to the Jigawa State Government and SASAKAWA for their kind intervention, which has transformed our farming practices into more productive, profitable, and resilient ones,” Hambali stated.

During the 2026 media field trips to some beneficiary communities, the Chuwasu Women Farmers Group equally expressed appreciation for the SASAKAWA intervention, under which the partners provided them with a rice milling machine.

One of the women leaders, Mrs. Hadiza Abdullahi, said the rice milling machine has eased the difficulties they face in processing rice after harvest.

“The provision of this machine, along with the new modern techniques introduced by SASAKAWA, has boosted rice production and improved the productivity of all the crops we grow in this village,” she said.

“The intervention has multiple effects: improving our livelihoods, creating more jobs, encouraging our youth to embrace farming as a business, shifting from subsistence to commercial farming, and building our capacity as women to become economically self-reliant,” Hadiza stated.

At Kaura village, another beneficiary community, the residents broke into jubilation upon seeing the SASAKAWA team during the field visit.

SASAKAWA has become a household name among every farmer, including boys and girls, due to the impact of its intervention on every family and household in the village.

In his testimony, Malam Auwal Musa Kaura said they are proud of what they have learned through the SASAKAWA intervention, which has built their capacity to understand and practise modern farming methods.

He maintained that the yields from their farms have increased and that they are expecting a bumper harvest this year, as they have mastered and applied the techniques appropriately with full guidance from SASAKAWA extension agents.

The collaboration between SASAKAWA and the Jigawa State Government is unique, comprehensive, and highly pragmatic in approach, making it easy for the average rural farmer to understand and benefit from it.

The project focuses on rice, wheat, cassava, groundnut, and sorghum, with special attention to women, youths, and persons with disabilities. It promotes regenerative agriculture, quality seed production, climate-smart technologies, farmer learning platforms, and market-oriented farming.

The project has also established 36 demonstration and seed multiplication plots and trained 120 extension agents, lead farmers, and community-based seed multiplication hosts in good agronomic practices, regenerative agriculture, data collection, and farmer business models.

According to the Country Director of SASAKAWA Africa in Nigeria, Dr. Godwin Atser, their intervention in Jigawa State is as old as their presence in Nigeria. He described the state’s farmers as very friendly and committed to supporting policies aimed at improving their livelihoods.

He noted that the state government is doing well in sustaining all the agreements signed in the MoU, which is encouraging and promising for supporting rural farmers to improve their livelihoods and achieve food security.

The Country Director, speaking to journalists through the Technical Coordinator for the Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture Food System, Mr. Nathaniel Otene, stated that SASAKAWA is currently operating across all 27 local government areas of the state. The initiative aims to directly reach 9,000 farmers under the new intervention that commenced in 2025.

The SASAKAWA intervention also focuses on building the capacity of rural farmers with modern farming techniques, access to modern farm implements, quality seeds, soil management, nutrition, and value chain development.

Based on reports from all intervention communities, the aims and objectives of the programme are on course and yielding fruitful results.

The SASAKAWA-Jigawa State Government collaboration is a welcome development and a clear demonstration of how practical partnerships can improve the lives of rural farmers, providing them with sustainable ideas and opportunities to enhance their agricultural productivity.