Fadama III opens farmers information center in Sokoto

He said the centre is established with grant from Japan and was designed to provide a wide range of mobile phone-access information service for the rural farmers in the state, adding, “It also supports standard Interactive Voice Response (IVR) functions and efficiently integrates with Extensible Mark-up Language System Interface. The system also permits experts at […]

He said the centre is established with grant from Japan and was designed to provide a wide range of mobile phone-access information service for the rural farmers in the state, adding, “It also supports standard Interactive Voice Response (IVR) functions and efficiently integrates with Extensible Mark-up Language System Interface. The system also permits experts at various centres to record; store and or send voice SMS to the main server with their mobile phone, email or web access.”
Mr. Adewumi described it as a landmark opportunity for the farmers in and around Sokoto, more especially Fadama users, to join the global village using mobile phone and internet to access information service on agricultural product, weather forecast, market prices, as well as services.
Adewumi stated that the main focus of Fadama III is to increase the income of users of land and water resources on sustainable basis, thereby reducing rural poverty, increase food security and contribute to the agricultural development activities and agriculture value chains.
Commissioning the centre, Sokoto State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Arzika Muhammadu Tureta said the facility was yet another innovation in the effort of humanity to develop agriculture in order to provide food for the growing population of the world and Nigeria in particular.
He commended officials of Fadama III in the state for their efforts at improving the agricultural sector, adding, “I am reliably informed that it is for this reason that the Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF) under the auspices of Fadama III project funded the establishment of Fadama Information and knowledge system in four states of Sokoto, Yobe, Lagos and Cross River as pilot projects.
“The state government recognizes that the traditional management of agriculture and agricultural resources are no longer applicable in today’s extremely dynamic and demanding environment. A systematic knowledge and information dissemination plan needs to be adopted and followed, I am glad that this information centre will meet some of those needs,” he said.
Chairman of Bodinga Local Government, Shehu Buda Badau noted that the establishment of the centre in Bodinga town was not unconnected with the volume of trade particularly at the vegetable market, which served about seven local government areas in the state.
“On the part of the council, we had supported the project morally and materially to ensure its success. The council ensures prompt payment of its counterpart fund contribution through the state ministry for local government. We have provided office accommodation for the Local Fadama desk and a piece of land for the centre which we are launching today,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of farmers in the area, Chairman of Fadama Farmer Association in Bodinga, Alhaji Musa Bawa Bodinga, applauded the project, saying the communication facility would go a long way in assisting the farmers to know about the value of farm commodities.
“We are grateful for Fadama III project. Since the inception of our group in the area, we have accessed funds amounting to N3.6 million. We have used this fund to improve our standard of living as well as creating job opportunities in the area. This facility will update us on how to access fertilizers and other farm inputs as well as the market value of our commodities,” he said.