.SUNDAY TRUST work, he has been able to assist in sponsoring his children in school. ':Although 1 farm during the rainy season, what I get through the dry season farming has always offered me a great deal of help if not for this work, I doubt if! would have been able to cater for my children's academic needs;' Dakasoye said. The all year round farmer, nevertheless described inadequate capital to purchase fertilizer as his major problem, adding that if he has the capital, he will be able to venture into large scale irrigation farming. "For the fact that fertilizer is too costly. I limit my scope to only 10 basins. Butif we can be sure of getting fertilizer at a subsidized rate or even soli loan facility, I can double my production capacity:'
constraints From Halima Musa &Garba Usman Gero rrigation farmers in Kana have described lack of government commitment to help them as the major challenge militating against mass food production of crops. The farmers stated this during a field visit by Pyramid Trust to various irrigation sites in Kano. Some of the farmers who spoke expressed delight with their work but complained seriously about the attitude of political office holders, who most times, they alleged, offer them hopes of assistance which never comes to reality ."Yousee, we in the rural areas are almost always being ridiculed. We are being used and dumped. As farmers, all we need is subsidised fertilizer coming timely but I tell you, most of the talks surrounding fertilizer allocation and distribution, be it for rainy or dry season farming, are nothing but noisy gongs as those things most times, do not get to the farmers on the field and where they do, the quantity can hardly make any meaningful impact;' Bashir Mustapha, an irrigation farmer at Bauren Tanka in Kura said. He also complained of shortage of water supply when the crops are at the period they need it most. He called on th.Hadejia/jamaare River Basin Development Authority to bring an end to their fears of water problems, especially when their crops have grown so well. " Another problem we have is that when our crops, especially maize, have grown, water is sometimes not released in the quantity sufficient for all of us to use simultaneously and in that case, our crops suffer and consequently affect the yield:' One Malam Inusa Muhammed Kura who spoke to Pyramid Trust on his farm at Salanta in Kura, said although he is a small scale farmer. The work has helped him to shoulder his family responsibilities. "You see, 1 only cultivate three basins. One basin for tomato, .another for maize and the third for onions. But despite the small scale nature of my work, I have been able to assist in maintaining my family;' he explained. On the profitability of the business, Malam Inusa said just like any other venture, dry season farming is also two sided; either you make a gain or lose but one
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can take measures to cushion such occurrences through multicropping. He said although there is no certainty concerning the price ofharvP,ted crops, yet he has been able to check such contingencies by growing three different types of crops. "That way, if! incur a loss on one of the crops, the other two can cover for my losses," he said. In Garun Malam Local Government Area, the same trend can be seen in the irrigation farming as the farmers also described fertilizer as the major problem militating against mass production. A seasoned irrigation farmer, Idris Manya Dakasoye, expressed delight over his performance in irrigation farming saying that through the
On the issue of getting government incentives, the man nodded and prayed God's mercy on the former governor of Kana State late Audu Bako and the immediate past Governor, Dr Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, the duo he said, rendered tremendous help to them. "The last time I got government subsidised fertilizer was during Kwankwaso, he has helped us in this our work but more importantly Audu Bako, who carried out the giant irrigation project that today millions of people are enjoying, I pray God have mercy on his soul." He prayed God to provide Kana with leaders who will have their interest at heart come next elections. Ashiru Ibrahim mai Karofi, a 65 year old man who also spoke to Pyramid Trust, while preparing his farmland for planting, decried the cost of fertilizer and the uncertainty of good prices after harvest as challenges in the dry season farming. "I am preparing this land to plant corn, to grow tomato and onions but the major
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It, :#: GOVERNOR Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State
challenge we are having is the cost of fertilizer, we have to buy a bag of fertilizer which is not more
than 16 measures at N5000 and above without being sure if the market after harvest will even be favourable. But we are hopeful that this year will be a better one for us;' the old man said. Asked to comment on whether they are receiving any assistance from government, Malam Ashiru said the greatest benefit they enjoy from the government is the water and denied any claims that they were being assisted by government
with fertilizer. OUf investigations revealed that there are hundreds of thousands of dry season farmers in Kana and
more are adopting the business yearly. They however, lack the needed capital to boost their production. Pyramid Trust further gathered that there are hundreds of dry season farmers associations but despite the existence of such associations. not much attention
has been given to them in terms of assistance which will enable them expand their production. Apart from fertilizer that the farmers hopelessly wait for year in year out, there is also the encroachment of elephant grass on the river basin. It is further discovered that because of the inadequacy of fertilizer, farmers are using local manure as supplements.