NAN-AE-17
Maize
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Feb. 23, 2017 (NAN) Prof. Sani Miko, the Country Director, SASAKAWA Global (SG2000) Nigeria, on Thursday said the NGO had increased maize production in Nigeria from 1.2 tonnes to about 5.0 tonnes per hectare.
He made the claim in Zaria, while speaking with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of SASAKAWA Africa Association 2017 Annual Review and Planning Workshop.
Miko stressed that the organisation had been able to boost agricultural production in the country.
“When we started, maize was about 1.2 tonnes per hectare but we have increased the yield to between 4 and 5 tonnes per hectare, adding that the improvement cuts across a number of commodities like rice, cassava and soya beans, among others.
“We have been able to turn around areas where we initially thought maize could not survive but such areas have been converted into a maize belt,” he said.
Miko said that in the southern part of Nigeria, the national average for cassava yield was 12 tonnes per hectare, saying that the yield had now changed to about 30 tonnes per hectare.
“For instance, in our first year of intervention in Ogun and Cross River states, we have changed the yield to about 30 tonnes of rubber per hectare.
“In essence, we have added value to what is going on at the state and national levels by complementing the efforts of the federal and state governments in extension service delivery,” he said.
Miko said that the organisation had trained a number of extension agents and farmers, while introducing service providers to improve agricultural production.
According to him, people are now acquiring machines and delivering specific services in crop threshing, cleaning and packaging.
Miko, however, identified the challenges facing Nigerian farmers as weak farmer associations, adulteration of inputs such as chemicals and fertilisers, as well as lack of access to credit facilities, among others. (NAN)
KLM/MOL/OOK
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Edited by Mustapha Lamidi and Dayo Komolafe