Jigawa, Saudi firm cooperate on year-round date fruit production

The production of date fruits, known as dabino in Hausa, is about to undergo a major change in Jigawa State after a Saudi Arabian date palm production firm and the government reached an agreement to increase productivity. Through the partnership, cutting-edge technologies and high-yielding date varieties will be integrated into the farming system. According to […]

The production of date fruits, known as dabino in Hausa, is about to undergo a major change in Jigawa State after a Saudi Arabian date palm production firm and the government reached an agreement to increase productivity.

Through the partnership, cutting-edge technologies and high-yielding date varieties will be integrated into the farming system.

According to data from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, Saudi Arabia is the second largest producer of tropical date fruit, with 1.61 million tonnes of dates.

Egypt is the world’s biggest producer of dates, having grown around 1.73 million tons of the tropical fruit in 2022 alone, while Algeria comes third with 1.25 million tons.

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The Jigawa State government’s cooperation with the Saudi group and Netay Agro-Tech, a Nigeria-based agricultural business, will bring new perspectives to the production of the tropical fruit in the state.

The nation produces about 21,000 metric tons of date fruits annually, with Jigawa State ranking among the top producers.

Governor Umar Namadi, while speaking on Tuesday when he received a delegation from Saudi Arabia’s largest agricultural firm, which specialises in date palm plantation and farm management, in his office in Dutse, said the new partnership will bring a fresh dimension to date fruit production in Jigawa.

Namadi expressed his administration’s support for the initiative, adding that it aligns with the state’s agricultural development agenda.

 “We warmly welcome you to Jigawa State and appreciate your interest in working with us. As a government, we are fully committed to this collaboration because it will greatly benefit our people.

“Your visit and willingness to partner with us in establishing date farms across the state, as well as improving our wheat production, align perfectly with our vision for agricultural development,” the governor stated.

He reaffirmed his administration’s readiness to provide the necessary resources to ensure the successful implementation of the project. He expressed confidence that the collaboration will yield remarkable benefits and position Jigawa as a leading global date palm industry player.

The leader of the delegation, Mr Abdul’aziz Abdurrahman-Al-Awf, reiterated the group’s commitment to bringing state-of-the-art farming techniques to Jigawa State.

 “We want to ensure year-round date palm production rather than seasonal yields and our collaboration will involve extensive farmer training and youth empowerment.