The Governor of Nasarawa State, Nigeria, Engr Abdullahi A. Sule, has commended the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) for the cassava and rice value chain development initiatives it is implementing in the North Central State.
The governor said the interventions were strategically incentivising his administration’s agricultural development agenda.
The governor gave the commendation when he received members of the SAA board and management in his office on a courtesy visit.
A statement signed by the Communication Officer of SAA, Moses Nongoatse, said the Association’s delegation was led by its President, Dr Makoto Kitanaka.
Kitanaka commended Governor Sule for supporting Sasakawa’s efforts in the state and promised that the organisation would continue to support farmers in the state.’
Through funding support from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs MOFA, Sasakawa established two rice value chain development centres in Nasarawa state to transform rice production, processing, and marketing.
The centres were established within the rice hubs in Assakio, Lafia Local Government Area, and Agwatashi in Obi Local Government Area, with facilities for storage, processing, transportation, and training for rice cooperatives.
Sasakawa also supported the establishment of over 200 hectares of cassava seed multiplication fields for improved varieties in the state under the Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) project it is implementing in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
According to Governor Sule, rice and cassava occupy vital positions in the state’s plan for food security, economic development, and energy, hence the appreciation of the complementarity of Sasakawa’s programmes.
The governor revealed that the state had invested in the production of over 1700 hectares of rice and encouraged the production of cassava to meet the state’s industrial needs.
“The two value chains of rice and cassava you have been developing in our state are vital crops for us, and we are seeing great results,’ he explained.
“For example, we are currently harvesting the 1700 hectares of rice we produced and the yield is improving. We’re getting three to five tonnes per hectare, but our target is 10 tonnes per hectare.
“I am sure that if we continue to work with Sasakawa, we’ll be able to increase the use of improved technologies and scale up yield and productivity,” Governor Sule noted.
The governor also stated that he was aware that the cassava seed system project was successfully diffusing improved cassava varieties and quality planting materials in the state and making Nasarawa a source of quality cassava planting materials for farmers in the north-central region.
“The development is very important because it is strengthening our plan to place cassava at the forefront of our plan for food and energy, especially as it concerns ethanol production, for which we have industries working in the state,’ Governor Sule added.
In his speech, the Country Director of the SAA Nigeria, Dr. Godwin Atser, acknowledged the governor’s role in the success of the rice value chain development centres, saying it was a remarkable demonstration of a government’s commitment to agriculture.
His words: “Your Excellency, I won’t forget that when we were embarking on that journey, you gave us some important advice, and it gave us speedy progress and hitch-free delivery. I am glad we took that advice and had your support all the way.
Dr. Atser noted that apart from production, processing, and marketing, Sasakawa was introducing farmers to climate-smart agriculture through decarbonisation in rice and maize production, organic fertiliser production, as well as alternative energy production from rice husk.
Some of the SAA delegates include Mr Ichiro Kabasawa, the Executive Director of the Nippon Foundation; Ms Kiyomi Takahashi; Mr. Kazufumi Morishige; Ms. Shiho Ichikawa; and Ms. Chiho Ogawa, all representing SAA Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
In a related development, the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) and the Nasarawa State Agricultural Development Programme (NADP) signed a renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening agricultural extension services in the state, leveraging SAA’s expertise in technology dissemination and capacity building for extension staff.
SAA and NADP have been in a partnership to provide extension staff with the necessary training and resources to promote innovative crop productivity enhancement technologies to increase food production and food security in the state.
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