By Adedapo Adesanya
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has awarded a N38.3 million contract for the procurement of input starter kits for Kano farmers through the Kano State Agro Pastoral Development Project, (KSADP).
The contract was awarded to Kano State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA) for distribution to 1,000 farmer groups in the state.
The inputs include a variety of seeds, fertilizer and pesticides while the contract was awarded to an indigenous company, Ahuda Agro and Chemicals Company, according to the State Project Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Garba Muhammad.
This was disclosed by the KSADP Project Coordinator, Mr Ibrahim during the contract award formalities in Kano, saying the seeds include cowpea, groundnut and soybeans while the pesticides are mainly herbicides and insecticides while the fertilizer is NPK and SSP.
It could be recalled that KSADP recently entered into a partnership with KNARDA to impact about 100,000 farmers in five years, providing them starter packs, training and marketing services.
“Improved seeds, good quality fertilizer and agrochemicals are crucial inputs for the production of major grain crops in Kano state yet many farmers cannot afford recommended inputs due to poverty, high cost and poor accessibility.
“We understand that facilitating access to these inputs can increase crop productivity in Kano state.
“KSADP is also working with its partners such as KNARDA and SG 2000, backed by their technical support consultants, to provide extensive support to, and enhance linkages between smallholder farmers and value chains actors, in order to enhance storage, processing and marketing of agricultural commodities.
“The key beneficiaries of the KSADP, which is funded by the Islamic Development Bank and its partners, are the peasant farmers and pastoralists while our objective is to contribute to reducing poverty and strengthening food security in the state by developing agro-pastoral production systems,” he stated.
He said this informed the project’s decision to invest more in the provision of agricultural inputs and extension services, pointing out that supporting the smallholder farmer is strategic in fighting poverty, which is prevalent in the state.
