The National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), in collaboration with the Kastina State Government and other stakeholders, has launched an all-season demonstration farm at Sabke Dam in Kastina State to promote food production in the country.
The project to be implemented in partnership with OCP Africa, the Infrastructure Bank, Sokoto Rima River Basin Authority, and the Katsina State Government aims to showcase the full agricultural value chain activity, starting from land preparation to market strategy.
The Executive Secretary of NADF, Ibrahim Mohamed, stated during a meeting with the partners yesterday in Abuja that the project is a major step towards utilising the dam infrastructure for year-round agriculture.
The ES explained that the MoU clearly defines roles and responsibilities for NADF, OCP Africa, the Katsina State Government (KTSG), and the Sokoto-Rima River Basin Development Authority (SRRBDA).
According to him, the agreement is a tangible result of a strategic public-private partnership aimed at demonstrating the commercial viability of year-round agriculture using Sabke Dam’s irrigation infrastructure.
He explained that about four staple crops, including maize, sorghum, cowpea, and soybeans, will be cultivated on the farm, adding that it will also serve as a demonstration site covering the entire agricultural value chain, from land preparation to seed selection, soil nutrition, crop management, harvesting, post-harvest handling, and market access.
He said, “This model farm will showcase an outline of everything from proper land preparation through to seed genetics, plant nutrition, harvest, and post-harvest, and hopefully a go-to market strategy.”
Ibrahim disclosed that OCP Africa, as the technical manager, has completed soil mapping of the Sabke Dam irrigable area and will oversee the development of custom fertiliser blends tailored to specific soil and crop types. Meanwhile, the project financier, The Infrastructure Bank, will provide funding for key inputs, and the NADF will serve as the overall project manager.
Katsina State Governor, Dr. Dikko Radda, expressed his happiness over the project, given the benefits it would bring to the state’s economy and the people’s livelihood.
He highlighted the importance of ongoing agricultural activity: “We want to have activities in that project all year round, so that we keep our people busy, we keep our facilities busy, and we optimise the use of the resources spent to build that very big dam that has been left fallow for a very long time.”
The representative of OCP Africa, Dr. Alik Orevaoghene, stated that the farm would serve as a hub for capacity building for smallholder farmers on good agronomic practices, he said. According to the MoU, OCP is also expected to supply quality fertilisers for the farm and for any out-grower schemes.
