The Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP) has signed an amended Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth $12,347,071.44 with the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA). 

The agreement covers procuring state-of-the-art agricultural machinery to scale up mechanised farming across the state.

The contract includes delivering essential equipment such as tractors, combine harvesters, and specialised land preparation, planting, harvesting, and processing tools.

Speaking shortly after the signing, KSADP State Project Coordinator Ibrahim Muhammad stated that the partnership will also include the supply of planters, transplanters, boom sprayers, solar-powered water pumping machines, rice milling equipment, onion storage technology, and other tools designed to support smallholder farmers.

“The amended MoU is aimed at supporting the government of Kano State in its effort to transform agriculture from the use of crude implements to mechanised farming,” Muhammad noted. 

“This will enhance productivity and reduce post-harvest losses by applying precision farming techniques.”

He further explained that KSADP, funded by the Islamic Development Bank, Lives and Livelihoods Fund, and Kano State Government, uses SAA’s expertise to reduce poverty and improve agricultural efficiency, aligning with federal, state, and Islamic Development Bank development plans.

Kano State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Danjuma Mahmoud, praised the initiative as an important step towards modernising the agricultural sector and making it more appealing to the youth.

Dr Godwin Atser, Country Director of SAA Nigeria, described the MoU as a milestone in the state’s agricultural transformation journey, calling the five-year partnership with KSADP a “remarkable success.”

Source: Punch

Image Credit: Science Nigeria