The Kano State Government says it is developing a long-term sustainability framework to preserve and expand the gains recorded through donor-funded agricultural projects, particularly as the five-year Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP)/ Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) approaches completion.
Speaking during an engagement with farmers’ associations on Media Field Day tour of the project to his office in Kano, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Danjuma Mahmud, said that while donor support has significantly improved productivity, modernized extension services, and boosted rural incomes, the “real work now lies in sustaining these achievements.”
Mahmud noted that farmers must begin to embrace modern tools and technologies, from climate-smart seeds to high-yield crop varieties and improved farming practices, to remain competitive beyond donor interventions.
“Our people have their own mindset about how things should be done, but as a rule-based association, we must be ready to reach new heights in productivity and adapt to emerging technologies,” he said.
Dr. Mahmud explained that donor-funded projects have established valuable infrastructure and strengthened farmers’ organizations, but government alone cannot manage the scattered facilities and initiatives left behind.
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He revealed that the state is developing a new strategy that will give the private sector a more prominent role in agricultural asset management, innovation, and mechanization services.
According to him, “Government cannot keep managing scattered efforts and infrastructure. We must subscribe to new technologies and new ways of doing things. One of our frameworks is to give the private sector a very prominent role.”
The commissioner commended farmers’ associations for what he described as “useful, fruitful, and impactful collaboration,” noting that smallholder farmers have particularly benefited from the interventions and would continue to enjoy these gains as the state strengthens its sustainability plans.
Looking Beyond Donors
Dr. Mahmud emphasized that sustaining the KSADP legacy requires structured coordination, private-sector participation, and the continuous adoption of innovations capable of driving long-term agricultural prosperity.
“Despite the successes recorded, SAA, being a rooted association, must always be ready to embrace adaptation, productivity, and new farming techniques. Our effort now is to sustain this beyond donor participation,” he said.
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As KSADP winds down, both government and development partners say the focus moving forward is clear: ensuring that smallholder farmers continue to benefit from a transformed agricultural landscape powered by technology, improved markets, and a sustainable long-term development strategy.
‘A Victory for Farmers’ – SAA Speaks
Also speaking, the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) Country Director in Nigeria, Dr. Godwin Atser, said the KSADP had achieved remarkable success as it moves toward its conclusion in December 2025.
“Our young men and women are now active participants in profitable agricultural enterprises, leveraging technology and helping to create a resilient extension system in Kano State,” he said.
He added that the visit to strategic partners, including the Kano State Ministry of Agriculture, was part of the final preparations to round off the project, describing the five-year initiative as “victorious in both reach and impact.”
KSADP’s Footprint: Thousands Trained, Communities Transformed
The Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP), a five-year initiative funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF) in partnership with the Kano State Government, has recorded significant achievements as it approaches completion.
According to the Project Coordinator, Comrade Abdulrasheed Kofar Mata, the programme has strengthened food security, expanded market access, and improved livelihoods across all 44 local government areas of Kano.
Kofar Mata explained that the project, implemented with technical support from the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), was designed to reduce poverty and improve food and nutrition security by modernizing agricultural practices, supporting key value chains, and enhancing extension service delivery.
He noted that SAA’s interventions focused on major crops such as rice, maize, sorghum, millet, tomato, onion, and cabbage, with activities tailored to each community’s agro-ecological strengths.
Over the five-year implementation period, SAA directly reached 477,284 farmers, 334,168 men and 143,215 women, through training, improved input access, climate-smart agriculture, and strengthened seed systems.
Kofar Mata stated that a major boost to the sector came from the training and equipping of 854 field personnel, including extension and community-based agents, who were provided with motorcycles and digital tablets to improve real-time advisory services.
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He said the project also strengthened thousands of production and seed clusters, which contributed to significant improvements in farming practices and productivity across the state.
He further disclosed that substantial investments were made in mechanization and agro-processing. Farmers received planters, fertilizer applicators, climate-smart pumps, threshers, hermetic storage units, vegetable crates, mobile flour mills, and parboiling equipment that empowered more than a thousand women.
According to him, KSADP deployed tractors, combine harvesters, rice transplanters, reapers, modular rice mills, and trained hundreds of machine fabricators and operators to ensure sustainable mechanization capacity at the community level.
Kofar Mata added that more mechanization equipment was already in the pipeline through project savings, including 80 tractors with full implements, combine harvesters, solar-powered pumps, seed drills, sprayers, and seedling trays meant to drive mass mechanization across Kano.
To institutionalize mechanization, he said three major Agricultural Mechanization Centres were established in Kadawa, Danbatta, and Gaya to provide affordable and accessible mechanization services to farmers statewide.
He also revealed that KSADP expanded value-addition infrastructure with the establishment of 81 agro-processing centres, medium-scale parboiling hubs, tomato processing units, vegetable drying facilities, and onion storage installations, enabling communities to reduce losses and improve income.
According to him, an external evaluation of the project showed impressive yield increases across crops: rice rose by 226 percent, maize by 161 percent, sorghum by 166 percent, millet by 152 percent, tomato by 50 percent, cabbage by 75 percent, and onion by 11.5 percent.
The evaluation further confirmed that the project achieved 732,624 metric tonnes of incremental grain—representing 86 percent of its annual target—while postharvest losses dropped by 51 percent among supported farmers.
Kofar Mata explained that KSADP also strengthened seed systems through partnerships with research institutes and seed companies, and by onboarding Farm Radio International and Extension Africa to enhance digital extension delivery.
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He said market access interventions supported more than 11,000 farmers in meeting market requirements, trained and linked agro-dealers, empowered sprayers and stockists, and facilitated billions of naira in market linkages across input and output chains.
The project also unlocked access to single-digit credit for 240 farmer groups, expanding agribusiness opportunities and generating jobs across production, processing, transportation, storage, and marketing.
Overall, Kofar Mata reported that the income of beneficiary farmers rose significantly, with average earnings increasing to ₦972,462 per hectare above baseline levels.
He said the project’s achievements continue to stimulate rural economies, strengthen value chains, and improve the resilience and prosperity of smallholder farmers across Kano State.