Kebbi begins massive soya beans production

In a bid to chart a new path to economic prosperity, the Kebbi State Government has signed a partnership agreement with a private company in Lagos to embark on a large scale soya beans production. The state government kicked off the partnership by giving the go-ahead to over 30, 000 farmers in nine local government areas to produce the crop in commercial quantity.
 
Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu
Alhaji Muhammed Garba, Kebbi State Commissioner for Agriculture, who disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, explained that the state government also plans to sponsor a further 10,000 farmers to also cultivate soya beansin an effort  to meet its production target. Some of the communities in the programme are Danko/ Wasagu, Zuru, Fakai, Ngaski,Shanghai, Yauri, Koko/Besse, Bena, Birnin Tudu, Augie and Bagudo.

Already, a team of agriculture experts led by Dr. Kenton Dashiell from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, has promised to examine the soya beans potential in Kebbi State with a view to helping it achieve its production objective.

Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu said the state is simply exploiting its vast agricultural potential and FADAMA lands to produce soya beans in large quantities as it is currently doing in rice and wheat production.

Apart from the selected farmers, the governor said his administration will support and assist other farmers that wish to cultivate soya beans with the required inputs to boost its production in the state. "Apart from soya beans, we are also looking into how we can assist our farmers to tap the state's potentials in cassava, onions, groundnut, cowpeas, sesame seeds and ginger," he said.

Few months ago, the state set up a committee to identify the communities that could produce the crop in large quantities to meet the commercial target of the state government. Alhaji Garba, said the state with regards to its MoU with Lagos, decided to improve on production of many of the crops that it has the potential to produce in large quantities.


He said, "Farmers will be organised into cooperatives and the state has already ordered for 100 tractors and 100 thrashers to support farmers."

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