Hauwa’u, the great rice farmer at 80

How long have you been a farmer?I have been a farmer since childhood and I grew up in the business. I do not know any other trade in my life apart from farming. My great grandfather, my grandfather and my father whom I inherited, were all sarkin noma during their lifetimes.What crops do you farm?I […]

How long have you been a farmer?
I have been a farmer since childhood and I grew up in the business. I do not know any other trade in my life apart from farming. My great grandfather, my grandfather and my father whom I inherited, were all sarkin noma during their lifetimes.
What crops do you farm?
I farm maize, sorghum, millet and rice in both dry and wet seasons.
How many bags do you harvest per season?
I harvested 100 bags of rice, 250 of millet and 150 bags of sorghum last wet season (2014). I am expecting a rice yield of between 150 to 180 bags in the dry season.
What are the challenges faced by female farmers in the state?
Our major challenge is lack of adequate funds to hire enough manpower that will carry out the farming for more yield. At my age now I cannot bend down for a long period of time to farm as I used to do several years ago. When I was a teenager, I used to harvest double of what I get now. Another major challenge is insufficient fertiliser and modern farm inputs like tractors and water pumps for dry season farming. I have resorted to applying between five to six trucks of manure to complement the available fertiliser annually. That is not giving me the yield I want. Access to soft agric loans, good prices of produce and shortage of modern facilities is another concern. I think government should help those areas too. Some women who want to go into full time farming are discouraged by their husbands who would rather want them to spend more time at home than in the farm.
So, how did you convince your husband to allow you to spend more time in the farm?
My husband is a very understanding man. He knows I am into farming before I married him and the entire family benefit from my hard work. Farming is what I know how to do and insha Allah (God willing) I will die as a farmer.
You mentioned water pump for dry season farming, how do you source for water since there is no river around your farm?
Yes, I drilled a borehole at the cost of over N300,000. I also bought the water pump because I could not get from government.
What assistance do you receive from government?
I got 30 bags of fertiliser for this year’s dry season farming from Kebbi State Government. My children bought additional bags that will cover my rice farm.
What about market for your farm produce?
Dealers come directly to my farm during harvest. The remaining is taken to the market for sale and home for the family.
Are you aware of the state government’s programme of purchasing rice from farmers at N6, 500?
Yes, they used to buy from my children in the market.
What type of assistance do you require from government to enhance your productivity?
I need more fertilisers and improved rice seeds and effective inputs for pest control. We also need agricultural loan with little or no interest to enable us buy modern farming equipment like tractors, combined harvesters etc. If we can get that, a lot of female farmers will go into farming as a business.