SAA to tackle climate impact, threat to food security

By Fatima Saka

Sasakawa Africa Association, a stakeholder in the Agri sector, has offered solutions to tackle climate impact and to mitigate the effect of climate change on food security in Nigeria.

This was revealed over the weekend in Kano at the two-day 2023 annual national stakeholders review and planning workshop organised by the group.

The workshop has the theme, Building resilience food systems in the face of rising food demand and climate change.

According to the Country Director, Sasakawa in Nigeria, Godwin Atse, Now, we have a very strong strategy that responds to this, we have three pillars of regenerative agriculture, nutrition sensitive agriculture and market sensitive agriculture.

In Sasakawa, we are developing programmes in agriculture that provide that livelihood for all, including women, youths and even people living with disability.

We are concerned about regenerative agriculture because we are concerned about less inputs, but attaining increased yields, he added.

He also said the programme involves aggressive extension work by engaging youths as community-based facilitators who take messages to farmers as well agro-dealers in communities.

Today, we are pushing a new variety of wheat in Nigeria, and the country is becoming a strong country in wheat production, and that will cut the cost of importation.

On the projection of possible food insecurity in Nigeria as a result of flooding in some parts of the country, the Country Director also said there is no cause for alarm.

He said, they have been able to develop the early warning system to farmers and also promoted flood tolerant, early maturity and drought tolerant seeds, so that farmers can use their most compatible crop to mitigate the effect of climate change on food security.

Earlier speaking, Sasakawa President, Makoto Kitanaka, said in the over 30 years of their existence, they are working with over 300,000 farmers spread across the globe, and that the theme of this years event is timely, as discussions around climate change and food security take centre-stage worldwide.

Similarly, the Kano State Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr Yusuf Jibril, said Sasakawa is one of the integral collaborators of the state in promoting agriculture.

He said the state is already one of the leading farming states, and is aiming to start leading across Africa.