Farm land In Katsina state, there is no seasonal punctuation of planting. This is due to the Jibia Dam project, an irrigation social investment with reservoir capacity of 140.0 mcm, connected to an area of cultivation of 3,500 hectares, reports Zacheaus Somorin Rain is crucial to agriculture because crops require water to be nurtured and nourished and to grow to maturity. That is the reason most crops, in the Southern part of Nigeria, are planted during the rainy season, that is, between October and May. But there are societies where virtually all crops are planted all-year round regardless of whether it is rainy or dry season. Katsina State perfectly fits into this category of societies. No Interruption “There is no seasonal interruption in the planting of crops here”, one of the farmers in Jibia, who simply identified himself as Umaru, boasted. Indeed, the uninterrupted farming in Jibia and environs has been made possible by Jibia Dam, an irrigation project with a reservoir capacity of 140.0mcm and area of cultivation of 3,500 hectares. Upward Trend As at 2007 when Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema took the mantle of leadership in Katsina State, farm yield in the state, as a result of the intervention of the irrigation project, was a mere 100 hectares. Shema not only developed the dam to increase the yield by several percentages, and by 2011 when he was rounding off his term in office, about 12,000 hectares of land had been committed to irrigation state-wide. Principal crops grown in the Jibia sector include beans, groundnut, maize, pepper, wheat, onion, lettuce, cabbage, sweet potato, Irish potato, pumpkin, and sweat melon. Projects Galore THISDAY gathered that there are at least nine other irrigation projects scattered across Katsina supporting farming system with human- controlled moisture environment regimes, leading to the growing of almost any type of crop depending on market demand throughout the year. “The attention Governor Shehu Shema has given to irrigation underscores his determination to take Katsina to the level whereby the state can contribute significantly to the food needs of the nation”, Abdulsalam, a guava farmer in the area of the state served by another irrigation project located in Zobe, said. The reservoir capacity of the dam is 177.0mcm and area of cultivation of 5,000 hectares. Investors’ Search Following the expansion of the irrigation farming system in the state, the Shema government is looking for investors to partner in the establishment of commercial scale plantation estates for food produce, as well as the allied industries for packaging, value addition processing and international marketing of the products. The air cargo facilities of Katsina International Airport offer much credence to the proposal. Obviously, the Shema administration’s agricultural initiatives are geared towards addressing food security and job creation in the agro-allied sector. Major cash crops produced in the state are millet, guinea corn, groundnut (cowpea), cotton, maize, beans, rice, and wheat. Katsina is Nigeria’s largest producer of cotton. Available Fertiliser Procurement of fertiliser for farmers is another area Shema is making the difference. As at August 2010, barely three years into the governor’s tenure, 61,418 metric tonnes of fertiliser were supplied to rain- fed and rainy season farmers in the state at a cost of N5.2 billion, and a subsidy support of N3.2 billion. In 2013, the figures would have gone up significantly as the fertiliser procurement exercise is a continuous one. The Shema administration also established four fertiliser blending plants at Batsari, Safana, Mai’dua, and Bakori to make fertiliser available in different parts of the state. Friendly Farming And to make farming expertise services readily available to farmers, the Katsina government rehabilitated the 15 farm centres it met on ground and constructed two others at Katsina and Charanchi, while area offices were established in Daura and Funtua. Clearing of the bush and cultivation of the land are two areas where farmers encounter grave difficulties in operating large scale agricultural projects. The Shema administration is easing farmers’ challenges in the two areas. “No fewer than 400 tractors and other implements have been distributed across the state to help farmers overcome the challenges of bush clearing and land cultivation,” a government official said. Focus on Livestock Due to its long history and tradition of rearing livestock dating back to antiquity, Katsina state is one of the nation’s leading suppliers of live animals and animal-related products. Under Shema, the state excels in ruminant animal production with capital asset of over one million heads of cattle, three million goats and two million sheep. Allied to the livestock is the production and conservation of fodder crops which constitute a significant component and contribute to the aggregate commodities and agricultural productivity of Katsina state. Fodder production and conservation is also a lucrative income-generating vocation for the state’s inhabitants and indigenes. Katsina has an ambitious focus, to produce enough crops for local consumption and thereafter for export. With the way things are going on in the state, that is not a tall dream.
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