Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) is the latest body to join several others in celebrating the key achievements and milestones of Governor Umar Namad’s agricultural transformation agenda in Jigawa State by conferring on him a well-deserved Diamond Prize for Excellence in Food Security.
The prize was purely in recognition of his indefatigable commitment to revitalising and enhancing the state agricultural sector through multiple approaches to achieving food security, job creation, growth, and sustainable development.
The NIPR prize award to Governor Namadi did not come as a surprise to those who had followed his outstanding performance in the sector he had declared a mainstay for building the state’s local and sustainable economic growth right from his inaugural speech.
Jigawa State has a comparative advantage in livestock and crop production. Governor Namadi has implemented different interventions, programs, and policies to improve the sector and achieve the desired goals.
As testified by the national president of NIPR, Dr Ike Nieako, Governor Namadi was chosen for the prize that has a cash backing after a careful assessment of what has been done by state governors in the food security area across the country and, indeed the Jigawa State was found in forefront
The NIPR was boldly proud to present the award at a colourful celebration held in the Dutse capital, which undoubtedly showcased some of the core aspects used to assess the winner of the award prize.
The professional body of public relations practitioners mentioned building over 150 km of embankment for flood control and mitigation, supporting crops and livestock farmers, and evidently increasing agricultural outputs in the state.
Governor Namadi was also assessed for opening new agricultural fields (farmland) and providing subsidized farm inputs to growing farmers.
NIPR also installed Governor Umar Namadi as patron of the institute and promised to collaborate with the Jigawa State government in mounting mass communication causes in the newly established state university (Khadija University Majiya).
Governor Namadi expressed his sincere appreciation to the NIPR for recognising his government’s accomplishments in agricultural transformations, which greatly impacted Food Security and economic diversification in Jigawa State and the Nation as a whole.
The recognition is also a testimony of the hard work, resilience, dedication, commitment, and collaborative effort of all critical stakeholders, including executives, legislative, civil servants, farmers, development partners, and good citizens of Jigawa State.
Governor Namadi’s overall agenda for agriculture involves ensuring sustainable agricultural transformation to accelerate the sector’s contributions to the growth of the State Economy, food security, and the provision of sustainable means of livelihood for the people of the state and Nigeria at large.
It is firmly believed that Governor Namadi’s Agricultural giant stride has already placed Jigawa State as a leading producer of some major food and cash crops in Nigeria, including wheat, rice, sesame, and hibiscus.
This achievement has also made Jigawa State a major contributor to national food security and the diversification of the national economy.
As Governor Umar Namadi declared, in the last year of 2024, the state’s rice outputs, both dry season and rainy season, combined reached over 1.6 million tons.
To that end, the minister of agriculture and Food Security, Hon Abubakar Kyari, reviewed the Jigawa state Agricultural transformation agenda and concluded by describing Jigawa as pivotal in achieving national food security.
As narrated by the state commissioner for agriculture, Alhaji Muttaka Namadi, some of the strategic policies and programs implemented to transform the state Agricultural sector included employing and training over 1,000 agricultural extension workers to serve as vehicles for delivering new farming techniques to rural farmers.
The state is supporting agricultural research and crop rehabilitation to ensure all farmers in the state have access to certified seeds.
The research also supports livestock development, while free veterinary services were also offered to all livestock farmers, with special priority to Fulani Herdsmen, who mobile Aminal health workers reached down to their Ruga for the services.
In his enthusiasm to ensure continuous improvement and sustainable growth in the state’s agricultural sector, Governor Namadi introduced a new policy of “Agricultural Mechanisation,” where N26 billion had been earmarked for the purchase of 300 Tractor, 300 Disc plough, 300 Disc Harrow, 300 Disc Ridger, 300 Tipping Trailer,150 Multipurpose Planter, 150 Rice Seeder, 40 Combined Harvester, and 80 Boom Sprayer.
Governor Namadi’s media aide said, “The state has already commenced receiving the delivery of the equipment for onward distribution to the constituencies. ”
As part of this drive, sixty mechanization service centres have been established, with two centres in each of the 30 state constituencies, to continue training manpower to meet the demands of the state’s mechanisation and industrialisation project.
The government also sponsored 30 graduates, mostly Agricultural Engineers, for three months of training in China, and they have already returned to the state to take charge of mechanization centres.
The state government has also been working in strengthen the agricultural value chain by supporting agro-processing industries, improving transportation networks, and ensuring citizens, both in urban and rural areas, have access to affordable and nutritious food.
Providing affordable and accessible modern farm implements and inputs at a subsidized price was also a core objective of establishing mechanisation centres across the state.
The state has also been supporting and empowering farmers with special grants and soft loans in collaboration with the Federal Government, private financial institutions, and donor partners.
Governor Namadi’s administration has placed food security at the heart of its 12 -Points Agenda by its belief that securing the future of the State and Country largely depends on the stability, growth, and resilience of the Agricultural Sector.
