WACOT revives cotton farming in Katsina

The programmes include the establishment of a mobile farmers’ business school to educate peasants on how cotton farming can be made into a business venture.The company’s crop manager (cotton), Dr Laxman Singh Dhayal, explained: “Peasants here do not see farming as a business. Rather, they took it as only a means of food production. Hence, […]

The programmes include the establishment of a mobile farmers’ business school to educate peasants on how cotton farming can be made into a business venture.
The company’s crop manager (cotton), Dr Laxman Singh Dhayal, explained: “Peasants here do not see farming as a business. Rather, they took it as only a means of food production. Hence, many of them abandon cotton farming for that of food related crops. We, therefore, find it pertinent to recruit staff in partnership with GIZ (a German NGO) that will go round the villages and educate farmers on how to make cotton farming a business venture.”
He added that besides the registration of about 5,000 farmers into 72 cooperative societies in Faskari, Funtua, Malumfashi, Bakori and Kafur local government areas, they also offer financial assistance and mediate between farmers and UBA in securing loans.
Dr Dhayal said WACOT offered loans to the registered peasant farmers in form of fertiliser and other agro-allied chemicals which the farmers refund with cotton after harvest.
He said that in order to maintain the quality and standard of cotton needed, designated cotton bags were distributed to farmers to package cotton for sale to WACOT at premium prices.
The company’s project coordinator, Dr Kabir Maiwada, said they used to monitoring and offer technical advice to the peasant farmers on how to boost their farms.
“Our staffers monitor farmers in their farms to ensure that the assistance and loans they collected are judiciously used. We also offer them technical advice on how to apply agro-allied chemicals and achieve the desired results.”
He added that as part of its social responsibility, WACOT used to offer periodic medical care in the remote villages through what is termed: ‘Health Check Camps’
Commenting, a farmer, Mallam Adamu Tahir of Dan Aji, in Faskari Local Government Area said: “It was the intervention of WACOT that encouraged me to go back to cotton farming which I dropped for years due to its unprofitability.”
He said WACOT acquainted farmers with new technologies and methods of improving their farming yields, adding: “Other agricultural companies and agencies should copy from WACOT to revive the farming of other declining crops such as groundnut and cocoa.”
He said after remitting his loan with his cotton this year, he ended up with a balance of N52, 000.
“I collected loan of fertiliser, pesticide and other agro-allied chemicals from WACOT and God so kind, I now refunded the loan with my cotton and I still have a balance of N52,000 as profit.”