Jigawa ACReSAL has empowered local farmers to produce their own seeds with knowledge and skills that plays a pivotal role in the production of quality food, ensuring food security, promoting biodiversity, and promoting local content for communities to have the right to control their own seed systems.
This is in contrast to dependency on external seed suppliers, which can be economically and politically vulnerable.
This was disclosed in a statement made available to NatureNews by Zubairu Suleiman Birnin Kudu, Communication Officer, Jigawa ACReSAL.
The two-day training of the 120 seed producers was held on 7th & 8th September 2023, at Ringim, Hadejia, and Gumel local governments with farmers’ groups mostly youth, women, and men drawn from different communities.
The training was aimed at equipping the participants with resilience ideas in the face of climate change challenges, to improve the use of locally adapted seeds to become increasingly valuable.
Community seed producers can select and propagate varieties that are more resilient to extreme weather events, helping communities better cope with climate-related challenges.
In Ringim local government, 20 women and 20 men farmers were trained in the production of maize and wheat seeds, in Hadejia 15 women and 25 men in Rice and millet seeds, while in Gumel 19 women and 21 men were trained in cowpea and sorghum seeds production respectively.
The facilitators drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Jigawa Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (JARDA) exhibited a sense of expertise by handholding the participants during a practical session, on the type of quality seeds, the process of seed planting, life span, treatment, and the modalities to follow in raining and dry seasons planting.
The training was an interactive session as participants shared valuable cultural and local knowledge, as most of them have traditional knowledge about seeds, farming practices, and local ecosystems.
Training them helps preserve and share this knowledge, which can be critical for maintaining cultural identity and sustainable agricultural practices.