‘We are using grains because we have no access to improved seeds’

What type of assistance do you get from government?I am getting two bags of fertiliser and small quantity of seeds under the GES arrangement at a subsidised rate. We record high yield of crops here, including wheat, and we have good buyers. We sell a bag of wheat here N15, 000 to N16, 000. I […]

What type of assistance do you get from government?
I am getting two bags of fertiliser and small quantity of seeds under the GES arrangement at a subsidised rate. We record high yield of crops here, including wheat, and we have good buyers. We sell a bag of wheat here N15, 000 to N16, 000.
I can see that you are producing wheat more than other crops. Do you also grow wheat during the wet season?
Wheat can only produce well during cold season. It is not good during the rainy season. It is better under irrigation.
Your farm is far from the river, how do you get the water to irrigate it?
Irrigation activities in Auyo depend largely on water supplied by Hadeja/Jama’are River Basin Development Authority. We have two sets of farmlands here- the ones within the reach of the water channels which we call project and those of us that are out of the project area. Since my farm is not within the project area, I dug a well to access water. After digging the well then you buy water pumping machine that you will use to irrigate your farm.
Who buys your wheat after harvest?
Big time traders and bakers come around to buy from us in bulk. We do not record glut of wheat here, may be because our wheat is good.
How do you get your wheat seed?
We are using grains. When we harvest we keep some that we replant next season. But the maize I produce is mainly for domestic consumption even though I sell some of it to some yoghurt producers. We sell a bag of maize about N5, 000 to them. We cultivate the white maize for them because they say it is good for yoghurt production.
What kind of assistance do you get from the local government here?
The majority of the people of Auyo are farmers but I have never received any form of assistance from the area council and I have not heard any farmer that got something from the council. They could not even link us with any company that can come and buy our goods. Farmers here are not progressing because the local government is not helping to link us to bulk buyers of our produce and access finance.
Beyond buying your produce, in what way are the yoghurt factories helping the farmers to enhance production?
They are always telling us to let them know how they can assist us to increase production. I am sure they will be willing to borrow us money to enhance production and later pay them. But I am not aware of any farmer that ever asked them for loan. Nobody wants to mortgage his farm or farm produce to collect loan. They have not also given us any assistance.