Kano State Investment and Properties (KSIP) Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AFEX Commodity to strengthen commodity trading in Kano.
The MoU signing took place on Wednesday at AFEX’s office in Abuja, which underscored the commitment to leverage collaboration to effectively develop and transform the commodity sector in Kano.
The MoU signing reiterates commitment to driving growth for the commodities sector and agriculture in general.
Speaking after the partnership, Managing Director of Kano State Investment and Properties Ltd, Auwalu Muktari Bichi, said KSIP’s dream is always to secure wealth creation for the Kano populace, by reviving the commodity sector through utilizing human and capital resources to improve the economy and generate value for the state.
“Kano is a key producer of staple consumption commodities like Maize, Paddy Rice, Sorghum, Soybean, and Sesame, and export commodities like groundnut. However, challenges across droughts, minimal storage, low fertilizer application and lack of quality seeds limit production and export capacities.
Under our mandate, KSIP was established to promote industrial and commercial activities in the state through the facilitation of direct equity investment and assistance to entrepreneurs engaged in industry, commerce, and agriculture. Through this partnership, the KSIP is set to drive financing to the agriculture sector to boost productivity,” Auwalu Muktari stated.
In his remarks, the Group CEO of AFEX Commodity Exchange, Mr. Ayodeji Balogun expressed optimism about the relationship, saying it will increase efficiency and innovation across the commodity value chain, not only in Kano but, Nigeria as a whole.
“Our exchange model, which we will be deploying during this project, provides a centralized platform for farmers, aggregators, and processors, to engage in transparent and efficient trading and improve fair pricing across the value chain while providing a path to unlocking the significant capital required for such a project”, GCEO Balogun.
The mutual agreement indicates a bold corporate statement by both firms and unlocks new opportunities for commodities trading.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Head Investment Division of KSIP, AGM Haris Halliru Gwarzo.
As the farming activities of the 2023 season are intensifying, youths from Kano and Jigawa states villages are taking advantage of the vast farming areas in their states to earn a living and survive through farm labour. These farm activities ranges from planting time to the harvest, during raining or dry season farming.
These young people including male and female, are working on various segments of farming processes for both the large and small holder farmers, thereby making it easier for them to attain bumper harvest and at the same time providing a means of living for themselves.
Although it is an era of modern farming through the use of technology, the young people, between the ages of 10 to 35, still makes wave and contributes a lot to the farming sector, as not all farm activities are done with the mechanized machines.
In a visit to some of the largest farms in Kura, Bunkure and Rano axis of Kano south, many of these young men and women were sighted working in various farms. While those between the ages of 25 to 35, are doing the hard labour, the little girls of about 10 to 15 years are doing the menial jobs to accomplish the task.
Some of works they are doing include farm clearing, planting, harrowing and harvest processes, which involve cutting of farm produce like rice, beans, millet among others, and also packaging and transporting them to stores and markets.
Some of the farmers picking rice seeds for plantation in Hadejia LGA, Jigawa state
Speaking to a group of youths in a rice farm in Gafan area of Bunkure LGA, they expressed satisfaction with what they earn in every hectare and the way it gives them chance of becoming self reliant. They said 10 people are working in a harvest of one hectare of rice and that they can finish one hectare in a day.
Many of them described their vast farming land as a blessing which reduced the burden of life, abject poverty and hardship, as well as preventing their youths against going out of the villages to the cities to look for money.
Their leader, Ma’aruf Usaini Gamadan, 28, said every farming season they engage in farm labour and have no time to leave their villages for cities to look for job, adding that they earn reasonable amounts of money enough for them to cater for their needs.
“There are different works here and different people are working on those segments. Most of our youths remains at home and earn enough to take care of the family, unless if one is lazy then he will complain. Because as you can see we are working almost all year round; the rain season, post wet and wet season.
“The harvest season is more profitable honestly as it is the final stage, and rice farm is the most expensive of all. We normally start with cutting the rice and the following day we will start removing the paddy from the grasses using drum, sticks and putting inside sacks.
“We collect N50,000 per hectare and 8 or 10 of us normally work together. We sometimes share up to N4000 after removing money used for hiring some of the things we are working with,” he said.
‘We buy our marriage furniture with farm labour’
A girl from a team of ladies doing menial jobs in some farms in Hadejia local government area of Jigawa state, Sadiya Shehu, 14, said almost 90 percent of the girls working in the farms are buying their marriage furniture for themselves and through the farm labour.
She said although they sometimes merged their work with scouting for remains of farm waste, they earn more of their saving through farm labour as the farmers pay them N300 per sack and also offer gifts of farm produce.
“Many of us that you see here, are about to marry and we are working to support our parents. The little we are getting is what we use in purchasing our furniture and other utensils for our matrimonial houses. Like now, as we speak I have four sacks of rice already and about to fill the fifth one. I got all these from the farm labour and remains of farms.
Young girls working in a farm in Bunkure LGA, Kano state
“They pays N300 per sack and normally they can get 30 to 40 sacks per hectare, which is around N10, 000 and five of us work in a farm. A part from that they also give us rice and at the same time we work on the remaining dust to get some rice.”
She said other works they do is usually at the beginning of the season where they plant, remove grasses and even spray fertilizer in farms and they are all paid for that.
“We usually leave home from morning and return in the evening, that is why it is not easy. But we have to do it, we all rise to see our elders doing this,” she added.
However, others among the labourers are the porters who carry either on their head or on motorcycle to the stores and nearby places after successfully finishing the job.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN today inaugurated a multi-billion-naira Kano River Irrigation Scheme, KRIS, which will touch at least one million lives.
A statement issued by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President, of Friday said the Buhari Administration added another feather to its cap in the agricultural sector as the initiative will transform the conditions of farming communities along the Kano River Basin.
Initially, KRIS is a component of the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria Project (TRIMING).
Speaking at the commissioning of the scheme in Bunkure LGA of Kano, Prof. Osinbajo said “the Project is an innovative approach adopted by the Federal Government, which has opened access to life-changing opportunities for the farming communities that are involved with the Project.
“The Project also serves as a vehicle to effectively harness the potential of vast water resources infrastructure, some of which were built well over 40 years ago but largely remained either unutilised or grossly underutilized.
“The main beneficiaries of the Project include basin stakeholders, irrigation and drainage entities, water users’ associations, farmers, and rural dwellers in the Project areas. Through the direct infrastructure investments covering about 37,500 hectares across six states, concurrent activities in agriculture and on-farm water management in these areas, approximately 140,000 farm families with about 1 million people are directly benefiting.”
Continuing, the VP noted that “today’s event is a clear demonstration of the Buhari Administration’s commitment to transform the conditions of our people in the communities of our nation’s bread basket.
He said optimizing water resources in such a way “will revolutionize the local agricultural economy and ultimately enhance the food security of the Nigerian people,” adding that the practical advantages of “unshackling our farmers from the constraints of rain-fed farming and boosting their capacity for year-round farming cannot be understated. This is precisely what we are doing through this project.”
On the objective of the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria Project, the Vice President stated that “it is essentially to enhance the productivity of 140,000 farmers within and near the following four rehabilitated irrigation schemes in Northern Nigeria: Bakolori Irrigation Scheme in Zamfara State, Middle Rima Irrigation Scheme in Sokoto State, Kano River Irrigation Scheme and Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme in Jigawa state.
According to the VP, “the project provides technical assistance for farmers at each irrigation scheme and facilitates strong forward and backward linkages along the value chains.”
Regarding the beneficiary communities, the VP noted that having “suffered the frustration of poorly maintained water distribution facilities with the attendant losses that have ensued, it is my hope that we will now see these facilities as yours and embrace a collective responsibility of preserving them and ensuring their sustainability.”
Prof. Osinbajo then commended Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s tenacity and collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, comprising the Minister and his team, which ensured that the project was completed.
Earlier in his remarks, Governor Ganduje thanked the Vice President for his support and the Federal Government for its commitment to the actualisation of many impactful Federal Government projects in Kano State.
Citing roads, rail and airport projects, among others executed by the Federal Government, the Governor noted that Kano was being transformed into a centre of trade and commerce in West Africa, adding that the Irrigation Scheme would add value to farming communities and associated businesses in Kano State.
On his part, Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu commended the President and Vice President’s commitment to the actualization of many people-oriented projects across the country.
Other dignitaries at the event were the Minister of State for Works & Housing, Hon. Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, Emir of Rano, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Kabiru Inuwa and the Managing Director of Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, Alh Ma’amun Da’u Aliyu, among others.
