‘Kano women emerge beneficiaries of IsDB-funded agro-project’

Kano State’s agricultural sector has recorded major breakthroughs with women emerging as central beneficiaries under the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP), funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF).  Sasakawa Africa Association is implementing the crop component of the project under the Kano Agriculture and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA) Speaking […]

Kano State’s agricultural sector has recorded major breakthroughs with women emerging as central beneficiaries under the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP), funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF).

 Sasakawa Africa Association is implementing the crop component of the project under the Kano Agriculture and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA)

Speaking during the 2025 Media Field Day press briefing held in Kano, the Project Coordinator of KSADP-SAA, Comrade Abdulrasheed Hamisu Kofarmata, said the five-year intervention has positively transformed crop production, livestock management and rural livelihoods across the state, while significantly empowering women farmers and processors.

He explained that the initiative, implemented in partnership with the Kano State Government and Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), was designed to reduce poverty and bolster food and nutrition security among vulnerable populations through the promotion of modern farming technologies, mechanization, improved seeds usage, value addition and expanded market access.

According to him, out of the 477,284 beneficiaries reached so far, more than 143,000 are women, making them the single largest beneficiary group of the project’s interventions in rice, maize, sorghum, millet, tomato, onion and cabbage production.

Kofarmata also revealed that one of the project’s most notable achievements is the establishment and empowerment of 397 women-led rice parboiling groups who were trained and equipped with modern technologies to enhance efficiency, product quality and income.

“These women are now driving some of the most productive rice processing clusters in Kano. They have become not only income earners but job creators and major contributors to household wellbeing. The women also benefited from improved vegetable value-chain interventions, including the provision of returnable crates, training on post-harvest handling, modern storage solutions and market linkages for products such as tomato, onion and leafy vegetables.

The project coordinator also announced the establishment of three Agricultural Mechanization Centres (AMCs), in three local governments areas of Kano state.  adding that the centres will provide affordable mechanization services across the state. He added that thousands of labour-saving tools such as threshers, planters, dryers, reapers and oil extractors have been distributed, thereby helping women reduce drudgery and adopt efficient farming and processing practices.

 

 

 

“Mechanization is no longer a service reserved for men; women are now operating small-scale processing machines and benefiting from mechanized services that improve productivity and profitability,” he stated.

 

 

 

 

 

It was also gathered that an external evaluation of the project showed impressive yield gains across major crops: rice (225%), maize (161%), sorghum (164%), millet (152%), tomato (50%) and onion (75%), leading to over 132,000 metric tonnes of incremental production, and that the average income of smallholder farmers has risen significantly, with beneficiaries now earning up to N972,462 per hectare, a sharp increase from the baseline.

 

 

 

The project also strengthened market access by supporting 11,225 market actors, empowering 1,100 agro-dealers, and training 1,448 contract sprayers, while providing women and youth groups with cargo tricycles to ease transportation of produce.