The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) under the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have distributed home gardening toolkits to 1,445 households across Kano State as part of its Targeted Nutrition Support Programme.

The distribution exercise, which took place between October 3 and 6 2025, covered eight local government areas: Kura, Garun-Mallam, Bebeji, Dambatta, Gezawa, Dawakin-Tofa, Bichi, and Bagwai. 

Each LGA recorded 180 direct beneficiaries, with women forming the majority of recipients.

Speaking during the launch in Kano, the SAPZ State Project Coordinator, Aminu Iliyasu, said the initiative has been designed to empower households, particularly women and vulnerable groups, to grow nutrient-rich vegetables and crops at home.

“The programme is not just about gardening, it’s about removing barriers so that even households with little or no prior farming experience can participate fully,” Mr Iliyasu explained. 

“It will help reduce micronutrient deficiencies, especially among children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups.”

He further noted that the long-term goal of the project is to improve household self-sufficiency, stimulate local economies through the procurement of gardening inputs, and foster community-led nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices.

Kano State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Danjuma Mahmoud, has praised the initiative as a bold step towards transforming agriculture into a tool for empowerment and inclusive growth.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Bashir Sanusi, Dr Mahmoud said, “This initiative goes beyond food production, it is about nourishing people, creating livelihoods, and transforming communities. 

By focusing on women and youth, it lays the foundation for stronger households and healthier futures.”

He added that the SAPZ intervention aligns with Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s agricultural reform agenda, which has introduced livestock empowerment for women and youth, farm mechanisation through tractors and harvesters, and the recruitment of over 1,000 agricultural extension workers.

Dr Mahmoud stressed that these programmes, combined with the SAPZ initiative, underscore the government’s vision of agriculture as a pathway to dignity, empowerment, and shared prosperity.

Source: Daily Nigerian