Sasakawa recognizes Nasarawa for positive collaboration to develop agriculture

Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), a global organization that support smallholder farmers along the agricultural value chain, has recognized Nasarawa State for outstanding collaboration for agricultural development in Nigeria.

Sasakawa Country Director, Dr. Godwin Atser, identified Nasarawa State amongst three other states, for recognition during the 2025 Annual Stakeholders Review Workshop organized by SAA in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Country Director said part of the annual review meeting was set aside to specifically recognize states that have supported not only Sasakawa but agriculture in general.

“Today’s event, we want to specially appreciate the leadership of those states that have given us support and have made the work that we are doing easy, by giving us their extension staff, providing security for us and in some cases we ask for support.

“I remember when we are doing the project in Nasarawa State and we needed exemption letter from the state and we approached the Commissioner of Agriculture and he made sure we had the exemption letter which help us to establish the rice value chain centres in Nasarawa State. This year we felt that we should also reciprocate that gesture by recognizing specifically some of these states that have supported us and not just us but also agriculture generally,” he stated.

Dr. Atser particularly recognized the Nasarawa State Government for its outstanding collaboration for agricultural development in the state.

Reviewing the activities of Sasakawa in the country, he said that that organization has made lots of impact in terms of interventions that are changing the lives and livelihoods of people in Africa.

He however added that Africa food system is at the crossroads, especially with increasing food demands and changing consumption habits, leading to a rapidly growing net food import, with food import expected to grow from $35bn in 2015 to $110bn in 2025.

“That is what we are going to spend on food import. That is not sustainable. If we continue to do that, that means we are exporting jobs and that would affect our economies. Something needs to be done,” he said.

Atser identified climate change as major contributing factor that is responsible for the food crisis in Africa, calling for a shift in the way agriculture is being carried out.

“All of us need to do things differently. We in Sasakawa Africa Association we recognize that there are innovations that can change the narrative of agriculture. But what is happening is that our extension system is weak. In some states today, you discover that extension is not there anymore. We have seen consistently that economies that have made progress in agriculture transformation are those that paid a lot of emphasis on technology transfer. Which extension and advisory services is key,” he said.

He said that explained the theme for this year’s review meeting, “Transforming the Agricultural Landscape through Digital Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services”.

“Today, we know that about 90 percent of the population own mobile phones, internet penetration is on the fast speed in Africa. These are the dividends that we need to harness, we need to take advantage of that and see how we can get the messages that would help farmers to change their livelihoods get to them at the right time and right quality. We believe that if we harness the power of digital solutions, that is going to be a very good instrument that would make us succeed,” he said.

Also speaking, SAA President Dr. Makoto Kitanaka stressed the need for climate-smart practices and resilient food systems.

Kinataka said his organization is working to evolve innovative solutions that empower African farmers to increase agricultural productivity and build a resilient food system that can withstand the challenges of climate change and economic global demands.

On his part, Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, commended the working collaboration existing between the Federal Government and Sasakawa, which redacted into the laying foundations for enhancing agricultural extension services in the country.

Responding, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, underscored the critical role of agriculture as a driver of economic growth and food security, emphasizing that in Nasarawa State, agriculture means business.

While appreciating Sasakawa for supporting Nasarawa State in the area of agriculture, Governor Sule reiterated that agriculture remains the backbone of the state, with over 60% of its population engaged in farming.

The Governor equally expressed gratitude for the recognition by Sasakawa, describing it as an encouragement.

“We came to participate in this event, but we ended up receiving an award. This reflects the seriousness we attach to agriculture in Nasarawa,” he said.

He particularly praised Sasakawa’s role in advancing digital agricultural extension services, noting that the establishment of aggregation centers in Assakio and Agwatashi, have enabled Nasarawa to retain value from its sesame production—a crop for which the state is Nigeria’s largest producer.

“Previously, our sesame was taken to Kano for processing and rebranded. Now, we’re reclaiming our stake,” he said.

Governor Sule also commended SAA’s training programs for extension agents and aggregation centres for rice, maize, and sesame, urging the organization to expand these initiatives nationwide.

“For us in Nasarawa State we see agriculture as business. Though nearly most of the big men in Abuja have their farms in Nasarawa State but they look at those farms more like hobby. But for us in Nasarawa State we don’t look at agriculture as a hobby. We look at agriculture as a business.

“That is the reason why I said we have to come. We have to show seriousness that we believe in agriculture. Last year, the Nasarawa State Government acquired 10,000 hectares of land, we cultivated 2000 hectares, harvested the rice and sold 80 percent of the rice to Olams and the 20 percent we distributed all over the state so that every local government now would participate in agricultural activities,” he stated.

Drawing from his experience from harvesting the 2000 hectares of rice, he raised concerns over heavy losses during the harvest even though combined harvesters were deployed during the exercise.

“In most cases, the losses that we experience as low scale farmers were in the areas of the yield and most likely post harvest losses. But in Nasarawa State, from our rice farm, we also experienced harvest losses, huge losses during the harvest itself. It is not post harvest or preharvest, it’s during the harvest. This is using combined harvesters,” he said.