Bauchi – Ganjuwa Local Government Council in Bauchi State has trained over 1,200 farmers on best agricultural practices ahead of the 2017 farming season, its Chairman, Dr Alqasim Ibrahim, has said.
Ibrahim said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Saturday that the training was under a Public Private Partnership arraingement.
The chairman said that the beneficiaries were drawn from 45 registered cooperatives in the area and involved imparting proper skills and knowledges on modern agricultural practices.
“Over 1,200 farmers have under gone three different trainings to improve on skills and knowledge that will help farmers yield positive result at the end of the rainy season.
“Under the arrangement, 45 cooperative societies were registered with 25 members from each group, and an agreement was signed earlier between the council and a private partner, Madaki Agro Allied Company.
“Base on the agreement, the council will provide hectares of land and get the farmers to register as cooperatives while the company will supply farm inputs such as seedlings, fertilizer, insecticides, pesticides and even monetary support to all the registered farmers,” he said.
NAN reports that the council had since cleared 5000 hectares for farmers engaged under the arrangement.