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By Abbas Bamalli
A farmers’ support organisation, Himma Agricultural Support Initiatives (HASI), has trained about 10,000 farmers across Katsina State on improved farming techniques aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and strengthening food security.
The President of the organisation, Prof. Sanusi Jari, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement tagged ‘Knowledge Dissemination Meeting’ held in Katsina on Saturday.
He said the training focused on equipping smallholder farmers with Good Agronomic Practices, covering all stages of crop production from land preparation to harvesting.
According to him, the initiative was designed to bridge the knowledge gap among farmers and ensure increased yields through the adoption of proper farming methods.
“We have trained about 10,000 members on good agronomic practices. These include land preparation, seed selection, planting methods, spacing, and other critical aspects required to grow crops successfully,” Jari said.
He explained that the organisation adopted a “train-the-trainer” approach, where one representative from each ward was trained and tasked with transferring the knowledge to at least 10 other farmers within their communities.
“This method ensures that knowledge spreads faster and reaches more farmers at the grassroots level,” he added.
Jari stated that HASI also works closely with local communities to promote sustainable farming practices, including land restoration techniques such as the construction of zai pits to rehabilitate degraded farmland.
He said communities actively participate by providing labour and identifying degraded lands requiring intervention, thereby ensuring ownership and sustainability of the projects.
The don further explained that the organisation prioritised five major staple crops, maize, guinea corn, millet, and cowpea, based on their importance to the state’s food system and adaptability to local conditions.
He expressed concern that many farmers still plant grains instead of certified seeds, which significantly reduces yield potential.
“Only about 10 per cent of farmers currently use improved seeds. We want to change that by making quality seeds available at the community level so farmers do not have to travel long distances to access them,” he said.
He added that selected farmers were being supported with foundation seeds and trained to produce quality seeds within their localities, ensuring availability of climate-adapted varieties and improving adoption rates.
Jari added that the stakeholders’ engagement was organised to share experiences, review progress, and strengthen collaboration among partners.
He said the initiative was being supported by a United Kingdom-based donor organisation Propcom, an organisation which the state government linked the farmers’ group with.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Aliyu Lawal-Zakari, represented by Shamsudeen Abdul-aziz, acting Director Planning, Research and Agriculture, commended the group for their initiative.
He further assured them of all the necessary support from the ministry, adding that their initiative geared towards the same direction with the state government agricultural agenda in the state.
(NAN)
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