The Kairos Initiative, a Bauchi-based non-profit organisation has trained selected women in Birshin Gandu, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis, on backyard sack farming to produce nutritional food.

The organisation also launched a 90-page book titled “ABC of backyard farming”. According to the NGO, nutritional agricultural produce does not necessarily have to be planted at a far distance.

Speaking at the closing-out of its programme, Dr. Moji Iheme, the Team Lead of Kairos, explained that the project commenced six months ago, where women were trained how to nurture plants like carrots, cucumber, pepper, tomato, Irish potato, cabbage, among others, in their backyard sacks.

“The programme was aimed at improving the care level of family nutrition, improving the general nutrition of the family, and empowering women. Teach them that within their household, they can grow vegetables, they can grow anything.

“In the course of this project, we realised that anything is possible. Anything can grow in our backyard or in a sack. So, we started the project, of course, from there. Development Exchange Centre (DEC), came in, they gave us capacity building, changed our organisation. We became more structured, more focused.

“We started with the training of 45 women when we came, and the chiefs gave us full cooperation. Everything we asked for, we got. Before we came, we went to the BSADP, they gave us every cooperation.

Also, the State Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr Aliyu Gital, who was represented by Abubakar Korau Garba, Deputy Director, Land Management,assured the NGO of government readiness to give an enabling environment for such programmes that are people driven.

“The Ministry is always ready to give support by making seedlings and other inputs available for such programmes anywhere in the State. Governor Bala Mohammed has approved the training of 1000 youths and women on modern agric extension services to boost agricultural production in the State,” he said.