Katsina Looks to Set Up Its Own Agricultural Research Centre After Learning from Jigawa

The success of the Jigawa Research Institute (JRI) in farming research, seed development, and soil mapping has encouraged Katsina State to think about starting its own agricultural research centre. This comes after a team from the Katsina State Ministry of Agriculture spent two days learning about the institute.

The five-member team was led by the Katsina State Commissioner of Agriculture, Aliyu Lawan Zakari Shargalle. The team was sent by the State Governor, Umaru Dikko Radda, to study how JRI operates, its facilities, research work, and development model.

Other members of the team were Abdullahi Ibrahim Tsiga, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture; Abubakar Dabo, Managing Director of KTARDA; Mansir Sulaiman, Director of Agricultural Services; and Samaila Sulaiman, Director of Planning. They were joined by other senior officials during the visit.

The delegation spent 9 and 10 September at JRI in Kazaure, touring the research farms, laboratories, and other facilities. They looked into how the institute started and how its research connects to farming production.

Shargalle said the visit helped the team understand the level of investment in agricultural research in Jigawa. He noted that this could not be fully appreciated without visiting the institute.

"We have seen a lot of things and learned a lot of things," the commissioner said.

He added that the visit aimed to help Katsina learn from JRI as it considers creating what he called the second state-owned agricultural research institute in Nigeria.

One of the first things that caught Shargalle's attention was the institute’s work on seeds, especially the production of basmati rice in Kazaure. Shargalle, who enjoys basmati rice, had thought it was a foreign crop until he saw it being grown locally in Jigawa.

"My thinking was that basmati is foreign and it will remain a foreign rice. But coming to Jigawa, I have seen it by myself. I saw basmati rice that was produced locally here in Kazaure, in Jigawa State. This is a very good initiative," he said.

The team also looked into JRI’s seed multiplication work, including maize production. Shargalle pointed out that they saw how seed multiplication could improve production, showing farmers the benefits of research investment.

He said, "So, our farmers need nothing but this investment."

But the commissioner said JRI’s soil-mapping work impressed him even more because of its practical benefits for farming. He referred to the soil-mapping department as "the heart" of the research institute and noted its role in making better decisions about fertiliser use.

Shargalle mentioned that Katsina has its own ways of checking and applying fertiliser. Still, what he observed at JRI gave them ideas to consider.

"But here, our coming to Jigawa, we have seen something that, Insha Allah, next year’s farming season, we are going to borrow a lot of things that we have seen. The fertiliser, even the soil mapping, we are going to do it," he said.

He stated that the delegation would inform Governor Radda about their findings and seek his approval for Katsina State to partner with JRI.

"We are going to brief His Excellency on our request for him to allow us to come and make a partnership with the Jigawa Research Institute, because in so many aspects we need to come. We need to do the partnership," he said.

Dr Suleiman Rufa’i Babura, the Director-General of JRI, said the Katsina team’s visit followed a directive from Governor Radda for ministry officials to learn about the institute’s work and study its model.

He noted that the two-day programme allowed the delegation to access JRI’s facilities, research farms, and laboratories.

"We have taken them around our facilities, we have taken them around our research farms and also our laboratories. So, we have given them first-hand and first-class information, and also all that they require to know about establishing a research institute," Babura said.

According to him, the delegation visited all six laboratories at the institute, where officials explained the work done in each facility. Babura mentioned that the visitors were impressed, saying their expectations were exceeded.

"Alhamdulillah, they are so excited, and they are so happy with what they have seen on the ground. As they have said, they didn’t expect to see this much, and they have seen more than what they were expecting," he said.

The visit was more than just a routine check. It gave the Katsina team a chance to see the facilities, research work, and development methods that support JRI’s efforts.

Shargalle said Katsina would return with documents, videos, the relevant law, and other materials from the visit to help the state plan for its own research institute.

"We have seen it, and we have got a lot, and we are going to collect a lot of things, both the documents, the videos, the law, in fact, a lot of things," he said.

He also mentioned that the relationship between the two institutions could go beyond this visit, with Katsina looking into areas of collaboration with JRI.

The commissioner praised Jigawa’s investment in agricultural research, calling the state a leader in farming in the North-West and Northern Nigeria.

"Katsina State appreciates what Jigawa State has been doing because, in agriculture, Jigawa is leading our geopolitical zone and, in fact, is leading Northern Nigeria," he said.

He concluded that the delegation’s experience in Kazaure confirmed that they have much to learn from the Jigawa model.

"We are going to copy a lot of things from you, and this is the first coming. You expect us, we are coming back," Shargalle said.

He added that, after sharing their findings and materials with Governor Radda, he expected the Katsina governor to visit Jigawa.

"And DG, as I promised you, Insha Allah, what I have seen, I know my Governor, if I take the videos and the documents, I’m sure, Insha Allah, we are coming back together with him," he said.

This visit has put JRI’s experience at the centre of Katsina’s plans for a state-owned agricultural research centre. It has also opened the door for more cooperation between the two states in farming research and innovation.