The Jigawa State Government has said it introduced a novel project called “cluster farming for farmers” where about N215,404,850.00 was injected to empower thousands of rice farmers during the previous wet season in the state.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja during the ongoing NEPAD Business Group Nigeria’s stakeholders meeting.
The chairman of the plenary session which had as its theme, “Developing The Nigeria Rice Value Chain,” who is also the Special Adviser to the Jigawa State governor on Rice Production, Mr Jamilu Muhammad Danmalam, said that the scheme, among other benefits, provided for soft loans, equipment such as ridgers, harvesters, milling machines and thrashers with capacity of producing 50 bags per day.
He explained that the “cluster farming scheme” is aimed at creating thousands of jobs among youth and housewives.
He said, “as we begin to record a bumper harvest at the end of wet season and the forthcoming dry season, the influx of investors and partners from all walks of life is the manifestation of the strength of our new road map to attaining a self-reliant state with equal opportunities for all citizens and numerous sustainable diversifies revenue generating avenues.”
The special adviser on the Jigawa State governor on Rice Production, said rice farming in the state has already started attracting investors and partners from within and outside the country, including Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who company has invested about $500 million in Hadejia, Kafin-Hausa and Auyo local government areas.
According to him, 200 farmers are engaged in the project which is comprised in a category to take care of a cluster of hundreds of hectares.
Danmalam disclosed that huge sums of money has been earmarked for agriculture in the 2016/2017 fiscal year.
He said, “Soon, the state government will unveil the comprehensive blueprint of the mechanized farming scheme with special treatment to rice production and enhancement of its investment.”