Kano post-harvest losses drop by 51% under KSADP, SAA intervention

The Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP) says post-harvest losses among smallholder farmers have reduced by 51 per cent following it’s project interventions.

The KSADP Project Coordinator, Comrade Abdulrasheed Kofarmata, stated this on Tuesday in Kano at the Media Field Day of the five-year project funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF) and the Kano State Government.

Kofarmata said the reduction was achieved through improved storage facilities, farmers’ training, and the introduction of climate-smart technologies across major agricultural clusters in the state, through the support of its technical partner, Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA).

According to him, the collaboration with the Sasakawa Africa Association has been instrumental to the success of the program.

He said the project had improved food security, nutrition and income generation for thousands of farmers through modern extension services, increased access to mechanisation, improved seed systems and expanded market linkages.

According to him, more than 477,284 farmers had directly benefited from KSADP interventions across 44 local government areas.

He said the project also strengthened gender and youth inclusion, climate-smart agriculture and nutrition-sensitive farming.

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Kofarmata said the project trained 854 field personnel, equipped them with motorcycles and digital devices, and supported more than 5,748 production clusters for grains and vegetables, as well as 1,537 seed system clusters.

He said KSADP deployed large-scale mechanisation tools, including planters, fertilizer applicators, threshers, power tillers, rice transplanters, modular rice mills, mobile flour mills and climate-smart irrigation kits.

Kofarmata added that additional mechanisation worth billions of Naira was in the pipeline through savings by the Project Management Unit (PMU), including 80 trailers, 80 ploughs, 80 ridgers and 80 harrows.

The coordinator said three large-scale Agricultural Mechanization Centres (AMCs) were established by KSADP/SAA in Kadawa, Danbatta and Gaya, as well as 81 agro-processing centres, nine medium-scale parboiling centres, 3 tomato processing enterprises, 3 vegetable drying centres, and 61 units of 5 MT onion storage technology installed.

He acknowledged the support of Gov. Abba Yusuf, the State Ministry of Agriculture, KNARDA and KSADP’s state coordination team for ensuring smooth project implementation.

Kofarmata reaffirmed the project’s commitment to sustaining gains and promoting continued transformation of Kano’s agricultural sector through strong partnerships.

On his part, SAA Country Director, Dr Godwin Atser, described the project supported by the Islamic Development Bank, the Lives and Livelihood Funds and the Kano State Government, as one of the most impactful agricultural initiatives in the state’s history, noting that it has transformed production and market access in all 44 LGAs.

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“Yields have doubled and in some cases tripled. Farmers are now better linked to off-takers, processors and financial systems, ensuring sustainable livelihoods,” Atser said.

He said that the project is officially closing by December 2025.

He noted that the partnership has delivered unprecedented achievement through the combined efforts of IsDB, LLF, Kano State Government and more importantly, the Program Management Unit under the leadership of Ibrahim Garba, with commitment from KNARDA as well as the commissioner for agriculture.

He added that SAA’s involvement in the KSADP project is rooted in its mandate to strengthen the extension system, to promote climate-smart agriculture and empower smallholder farmers.

Also, Kano State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Danjuma Mahmoud, and the Managing Director of KNARDA, Farouk Kurawa, commended SAA for exceeding expectations, noting that the project surpassed its beneficiary target by 20 per cent.