A Non-Governmental Organization, TechnoServe, has trained 800 farmers on rice and tomato farming from 16 Local Government Areas of Kano State.
Speaking at an event, tagged ‘Brown Field Day’ held in Warawa Local Government area of Kano State on Saturday, the Programme Manager of the NGO, Olorunfemi Toyin, said they gathered the beneficiaries to showcase what they learnt during the training.
According to Mr Toyin, the farmers received 4-month intensive training.
He said 800 received training on rice farming, while other 800 were trained on tomato farming.
Mr Toyin added that the programme was aimed at increasing opportunities for the farmers to profitably market their produce.
He further said the NGO donated qualitative farm inputs and offered modern farming techniques to the farmers during the training, adding that the farmers recorded better yield than before acquiring the training.
“As you can see, the farmers are happy. They are giving testimony by themselves. We are here to support them and empower their business. This programme is free. They gave nothing for the training. In fact, we were the ones giving them some transport allowances.
“This event is a case study, to show the public our intentions to support and promote farmers in this country. We will link them to vendors where they will sell their commodities profitably,” Mr Toyin said.
Giving a testimony, a beneficiary, Aminu Salihi, said he recorded better yield after using the inputs and techniques he received from TechnoServe.He said: “I learnt a lot of farming techniques, especially on the application the seeds in farm. We used to spray seeds randomly in our farms before, but when this organization came to us, they taught us how to apply the seeds in order.
“I have now recorded a better yield in my farm than before. Not only that, the quantity and quality of my produce are the best I have ever produced in my life,” he said.
Another beneficiary, Habiba Garba, said she recorded successes in her farming, courtesy of TechnoServe.
She narrated that they faced pests invasion in their farms, but when the NGO donated a pesticide (Current) to them, it killed the pests without harming their plants.
All the farmers thanked TechnoServe for the gesture, while Mr Toyin revealed that the programme is being extended to Plateau State.
TechnoServe’s programme, ‘Promoting Rice and Tomato Farmers’ Livelihood in Nigeria, is aimed at supporting rice and tomato farmers in the country.
The international NGO already trained over 3,000 rice and tomato farmers across different Local Government areas in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States.
