Agriculture
SASSAKAWA Africa Association (SAA), a Non-Governmental Organisation, has urged farmers to always work in clusters to boost agricultural productivity and reduce burden of losses.
The Deputy Country Director of the association, Dr Gambo Abdulhamid made the plea on Saturday in Ringim intervention sites of Santalmawa and Facawa communities.
He said that working in clusters would provide farmers with abundant opportunities and reduce risk of individual losses.
Abdulhamid observed that cluster formations attract donor agencies, saying that many partners find it more easier and more comfortable to work with working groups.
According to him, “When farmers work in clusters, they apply their various skills into a particular project, saying that in the event of losses, it is very easy to be tackled as a group.
“Working in team, increases production. Outcome of team work far outweigh what you produce individually.
“I urge you all to keep up working in your farmer clusters and network with other clusters, this will certainly attract investors and partnerships,” the Deputy Director said.
Meanwhile, Santalmawa Women Farmers’ Group, briefed the Sassakawa delegation on the progress they recorded after being mobilised by the association to work in clusters.
Leader of the women farmers’ group, Mrs Salamatu Shehu, admitted that they were not realising much harvest before the formation of their group by Sassakawa.
She explained that other partners such as Women Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (WOFAN) had also worked with them, “because they are already in clusters.”
The leader confirmed that their productivity had increased by over 100 per cent after the formation of the cluster about three years ago.
Also, Mr Isa Yahya, Secretary of Santalmawa farmers’ group, said working in clusters had provided them the opportunity to invest more into their farming activities.
“The fact that we are many, we contribute money at intervals, where we raised large amount, which we invested in rice and wheat, as against millet and groundnut that we used to produce.
“Working in group has also provided us a sense of relief because when we encounter losses, we all work towards addressing it, which hitherto used to be an individual suffering,” Yahya said.
While pledging to sustain their clusters, the Santalmawa farmers’ groups also promised to form more for greater productivity and better harvest.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sassakawa Africa Association, a non-governmental organisation working in agriculture, has interventions in over 500 communities in Jigawa.
The SSA conducts an annual media field tour, to assess its interventions’ successes and challenges with a view to improving on it in the subsequent years. (NAN)
23rd November, 2024.
C.E.
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