In response to crippling post-harvest losses undermining overall food productivity, Kano State has begun upgrading rural-storage systems, investing in aggregation points for grains and vegetables and introducing climate-smart irrigation in key producing communities.
Over the years, the state also pushed for farmer training in handling, drying and packaging, while strengthening agricultural clusters to ensure that smallholders do not operate in isolation.
Additionally, it adopted a more structured programme to expand extension services and introduce community-level mechanisation tools that minimise crop damage.
These interventions consequently reduced waste during harvesting, threshing, transport and processing, achieving a 51% reduction in post-harvest losses, according to the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP).
What’s more, with yield increases in grains and perishables, beneficiary farmers recorded an increase in average income of ₦972,462.01 per hectare above baseline levels despite limited land and heavy value-chain leakages.
The project strengthened the seed system by supporting 1,537 seed clusters, created 5,748 production clusters for grains and vegetables and expanded mechanisation through tools such as planters, threshers, rice transplanters, mobile flour mills and climate-smart irrigation kits.
To support farmers in input management, 854 extension personnel were trained, equipped with digital devices and motorcycles and stationed in farming communities.
The KSADP has cited Agricultural Mechanisation Centres in three communities in the state, including 81 agro-processing centres, nine medium-scale parboiling centres and multiple vegetable storage hubs.
With savings from the Project Management Unit (PMU) approved for additional equipment, the state is set to acquire more tractors and solar irrigation pumps, expanding its mechanisation drive.
Nigeria loses an estimated 50% of food produced annually because of weak handling, transportation and storage.
Kano’s initiative demonstrates that smallholder farmers, who make up over 80% of Nigeria’s agriculture sector, respond quickly to improved systems tailored to their realities.
More often than not, many agricultural interventions hardly translate into measurable outcomes. Kano, by contrast, shows not only declining losses but also higher incomes as yields have improved.
In truth, Kano’s example proves that progress in agriculture is not theoretical. When policies translate into consistent action, measurable outcomes follow.
Summary not available at this time.
