Labbo Aliyu is a 56-year-old retired civil servant from Asari village, Wamakko Local Government Area of Sokoto State. After retiring from the State Ministry, Aliyu turned to medium-scale farming, purchasing 5 hectares of land to grow rice. However, Aliyu realized what many farmers do not: that increased yields are achieved more through the adoption of technologies than through expansion in cultivated areas. In light of this realization, Aliyu sought to improve his technical skills through training on good agricultural practices.
In July 2016, Aliyu was one of the farmers trained through the Feed the Future Nigeria Agro-Inputs Project implemented by IFDC. Aliyu learned about a series of modern farming practices, such as land preparation, nursery establishment/planting, fertilizer application, weed control, pest management, and harvesting. He was also introduced to productivity-enhancing technologies: soil- and crop-specific fertilizer blends (NPK-20:10:10 + 1Zn+2S) and urea deep placement (UDP).
According to Aliyu, his training paid off. For him, the benefits just make good economic sense, “When I used farmer’s practice, I obtained 120 bags of rice from 1 hectare, but using the modern technologies introduced to me by the project, I obtained 152 bags.”
Recognizing that the benefits shouldn’t stop with him, Aliyu shares his success. He is proud to use his own farm to demonstrate the benefits of productivity-enhancing technologies to other farmers, particularly women in his community who often do not have access to modern extension information.
Read more about the Feed the Future Nigeria Agro-Inputs Project here.
