The watermelon farmers of Sokoto

Sabon Birni, Isa and Shagari local government areas of Sokoto are noted as major producers of the fruit in the state while Sokoto North and Bodinga local government areas produce it in small quantities.Chairman, Watermelon Dealers Association, Sokoto State chapter, Alhaji Musa Kaduna, said Sokoto is a major supplier of the commodity across Nigeria.The watermelon […]

Sabon Birni, Isa and Shagari local government areas of Sokoto are noted as major producers of the fruit in the state while Sokoto North and Bodinga local government areas produce it in small quantities.
Chairman, Watermelon Dealers Association, Sokoto State chapter, Alhaji Musa Kaduna, said Sokoto is a major supplier of the commodity across Nigeria.
The watermelon depot at Kasuwar Daji on the outskirts of Sokoto metropolis is a beehive of activities, with farmers, sellers and consumers of the produce come to do business there. There are two categories of watermelon. The “sasako” and “rothman.” The latter is also called “kakin soja”because of its skin resemblance to the army camouflage kits.

A truck (Canter) load of the fruit cost as much as N120,000 while a measure called “Kinarya” consisting of 100 pieces is sold at N14,000 –N15,000 depending on the type and size.
The Kasuwar Daji Depot can off-load as much as truck 12 loads of the fruit daily, which is sold to consumers and retailers same day. However,during its scarcity, they may get only two to three truckloads of the commodity.
The watermelon cultivated in Sokoto is transported to various parts of the country such as Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Zaria, Kaduna,Abuja, Lagos, Warri among others.

A watermelon farmer, Abdulhamid Abdullahi, from Kebbi State who is based in Sokoto, explained how they plant and cultivate the fruit, saying that farmers construct beds on their fields; they till the soil and allow irrigation water to pass over the beds and then apply mixed fertilizer, which is blended with local manure. They  later spread the seedlings over the watered beds.
He said as they nurture the seedling to a stage, they apply pesticide at regular intervals and continue watering at 3 –4 days intervals.
Watering schedules vary during the hot season and harmattan when they reduce the content of watering due to the cold weather. It is done at 2-3 days interval, he explained.
On the eve of harvesting, the farmers also apply URIA and KAMPA brands of fertilizer 2-3 times, and 2 weeks before cultivation day.
They usually get the seedlings from government and they take 70 days from planting to harvesting while the locally sourced seedlings last 80-90 days.
Watermelon harvested during the hot season tastes better than the ones planted and harvested during the rainy season,according to the farmers.
Most of the farmers lament that they get their entire requirement from the open market.
Another major challenge for the marketers is the farmers’ tendency to commence premature cultivation of the commodity which floods the market with unripe fruits thereby creating problems for dealers and consumers.
The situation poses problem to the dealers because, according to them, they are not comfortable giving their customers what they don’t deserve. Water melon is noted to have a peculiar disease which usually destroys the plant at the early stage of its growth. The disease makes the leaves to go reddish in colour. The disease is rare, it can hinder the crop’s growth or even destroy it completely. Luckily,the Sokoto watermelon farmers say, it is not so common in this part of the country.
The chairman of the Watermelon Dealers Association, Alhaji Musa Kaduna, who has over a dozen years experience in the watermelon business, solicited for loan from government to enable his members conduct their activities with ease.
The association which comprises over 1,000 watermelon farmers and marketers also appealed to government to provide them seedlings, pumping machines and fertilizer which they said the Ministry of Agriculture had promised to give them but it is yet to redeem the pledge.
They also called on the Sokoto State Government to allocate a permanent place for them to conduct their business saying that where they are presently is a rented premises and was not even big enough to accommodate their members, and the vehicles coming to do business.
The watermelon dealers also appealed to government to find a solution to the problem of the heavy loss they usually incur when there is too much of the commodity in the market.
They advised that a packaging company should be created in the state so that the commodity can be bottled or canned to avoid regular waste recorded.