Katsina wheat farmers solicit for viable market

Expressing this development to our reporter, one of the irrigation farmers in the area, Malam Aminu Dangoga, said they were farming wheat in large quantities about 20 years ago but that gradually farmers are now abandoning it for crops that will give them quick money such as tomatoes, Irish potatoes, lettuce and cabbage.These crops, he […]

Expressing this development to our reporter, one of the irrigation farmers in the area, Malam Aminu Dangoga, said they were farming wheat in large quantities about 20 years ago but that gradually farmers are now abandoning it for crops that will give them quick money such as tomatoes, Irish potatoes, lettuce and cabbage.
These crops, he said, unlike wheat can be cultivated twice in a year, giving the farmers better yield and more profit as they are highly demanded commodities than wheat.
“Irrigation farmers nowadays prefer crops that can give them money in a short time, such as tomatoes, cabbage and Irish potato that can be cultivated twice a year but wheat can only be cultivated once a year. This is because it takes at least five months before harvesting and it requires cold weather to blossom during its growing stage,” he said.
Corroborating, another wheat farmer Malam Adamu Ziyara said about 1,000 baskets of tomatoes can be harvested in an acre of land which at best would produce 15 bags of wheat; adding that the fluctuating price of tomatoes is most times advantageous to the farmers than the fixed price of wheat.
He also lamented lack of consistent market for wheat like that of soybeans, sorghum and other agricultural commodities as most companies that are dealing with it prefer its importation than buying from local farmers.
“Tomato has no fixed price. Its price fluctuates depending on the forces of demand and supply in the market being it perishable in nature. Therefore a farmer finds it more profitable to cultivate tomato than wheat which at best you will sell at N16,000 per 100 kilogrammes bag. Besides that we have to liaise with company agents to sell our wheat in the absence of its competitive market,” he said.
He thanked Katsina State government for its effort in resuscitating irrigation farming across the state through the provision of fertiliser, pesticides, water pumping machines and other implements to farmers at subsidised rates.
He called on government and relevant agencies to create an enabling market for wheat farmers to trade their commodity at competitive price.
“Local production of wheat should be boosted to stop importation as we have arable land that can produce large quantity of the commodity for both domestic use and exportation,” he said.
He further stressed the need for agricultural research institutes and private organisations to provide enough quality wheat seeds to farmers considering that most wheat farmers source their seeds from the open market in Gujungu, Jigawa State.
Wheat farming is similar to that of maize as they both require adequate application of fertiliser and watering, he said, adding that wheat can only be produced in the dry season as the rains harm it a lot.