Farmers target production of sunflower oil to tackle cancer

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Kaduna State, Dr Daniel Maigari, has said the state government is committed to ensuring improvements in agricultural production in the state.

Maigari made the assertion on Tuesday in Kaduna during a sensitization workshop of Stakeholders in the Sunflower Value Chain in Kaduna.

He said the workshop was to sensitise farmers to enable them became sustainable in the development of sunflower farming.

According to him, sunflower is very important because it contributes greatly to global trade for Nigeria.

“This is a welcome idea and a wake-up call to Nigeria because sunflower alone can drive the economy of Nigeria to greater heights.’’

“Nigeria is endowed with the right climate, hence the need for the workshops to be pragmatic as possible.

“I expect guidelines that would yield positive results; let’s not make it a talk show, let’s make sure we set goals that are timely.’’

He said the government is more than willing to assist the farmers and that between 2015 to date, a lot of resources had gone into the farming sector.

He said in Kaduna state, the state government has invested in the anchor borrowers’ programme and it has assisted 12,000 farmers.

The commissioner urged farmers to take advantage of the programme.

“Ensure that you do what you need to do to make profit and also ensure that whatever facilities you get as support is paid back.

“This is the only way you can continue to grow; do the needful, pay back and get more so that you can continue to access more,’’ he said.

Dr Maimuna Habibu, who represented the Director General of the Nigeria Agriculture Quarantine Service (NAQS) said the event was significant as sunflower had become an emerging commodity in the global market.

Habibu said: “We encourage Nigerian farmers to plant and harvest it so as to process it into oil and export it.

“That is why we gathered farmers from the North West and North Central to tell them what to do, so as to get good quality products
for exports.