By Esta Akaa

Smallholder farmers of Nasarawa State rural communities have praised the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) for transforming their livelihoods through agricultural interventions.

During a two-day media field visit to Lafia, Doma and Obi Local Government Areas, rice-producing farmers expressed satisfaction with SAA’s programmes on regenerative, nutrition-sensitive, and market-oriented agriculture, saying they had gained access to improved technologies and best practices.

Mr Yusuf Ekom, Chairman of Salama Oklo Cooperative Society, said SAA trained them on producing “Bokashi” and “Biochar” to maintain soil health and improve rice yields.

“They also gave us improved rice seed – Faro 66, which yields better and faster than other varieties in the market.

“The intervention has changed my life and the lives of other members of the cooperative as we can now feed our families comfortably and train our children in school.

“You can imagine that I now harvest about 30 bags of rice from a plot of land that I used to harvest about 10 bags of rice before the intervention of Sasakawa in my community,” Ekom said.

Mrs Mary Daniel, Chairperson of Muyi Noma Women Cooperative, said SAA’s training has helped members to feed their families, train children, and assist orphans.

“We were trained on production of Bokashi and Biochar, which we use in our farms and even sell to other farmers to make money.

“We sell a bag of Bokashi and Biochar at N20,000 and currently we have more than N300,000 in our account.

“Sasakawa also trained us on nutrition; how to grow and eat healthy food within our community. They supported us to cultivate pro-vitamin A maize, pumpkin, ginger and other vegetables, which we now eat with our families,” Daniel said.

Salome Isaac and Mary Samuel, members of Kauna Cooperative Society, applauded SAA’s impact and appealed for its extension to boost food security.

Mr Emmanuel Odeh, Chairman of Apashi Woza Cooperative, said SAA has revolutionised farming and rice processing by providing a modern aggregation and processing centre employing 67 labourers.

Dr Godwin Atser, SAA Nigeria Country Director, called for sustained collaboration with Nasarawa State Government to enhance agricultural productivity and food security.

“SAA, with support from The Nippon Foundation of Japan, implemented impactful initiatives, increasing rice yield from 1.8 to 4.8 tonnes per hectare, representing over 100% productivity rise,” Atser said.

“Together, we can continue to build a resilient, food-secure, and prosperous Nasarawa State,” he added.

Dr Habib Diso, Technical Coordinator, Monitoring and Evaluation, said media field days assess SAA’s impact and gather feedback for future plans.

On his part, Mr Moses Nongoatse, SAA Communication Officer said the organisation focuses on training, mentoring, and equipping farmers with technical knowledge, promoting climate-smart and high-yielding crop varieties.