By Awyetu Asabe Hope
A team of Chinese investors has announced plans to invest $20 million in livestock, poultry and agricultural development in Jigawa State to boost food production, job creation and export capacity.
The commitment followed a tour of farmlands across the state, where the investors assessed Jigawa’s agricultural potential and availability of arable land.
Leader of the delegation, Senator Mubarak Ahmed, said the visit was an investment scouting mission focused on livestock and crop production.
Speaking on behalf of the team, Professor Gua Bao Yuan said the investors, drawn from Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province, were building on discussions held with the Jigawa State Government during the China–Africa Cooperation Forum last year.
He said the investment would be executed through a public-private partnership to strengthen agribusiness and create employment opportunities.
Responding, Governor Umar Namadi described Jigawa as an agrarian state with about 1.4 million hectares of cultivable land, including over 400,000 hectares of fertile fadama land, noting that agriculture accounts for about 46 per cent of the state’s GDP.
