In a bid to address food insecurity in Nigeria and transform agriculture, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has expressed readiness to partner with Bayero University Kano (BUK) on entrepreneurship and climate adaptation in Northern Nigeria
The Vice President of the African Development Bank, Human and Social Development, Beth Dunford, stated this on Wednesday during a visit to the Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA), Bayero University, Kano, which was part of the bank’s concerted effort to partner with the centre to address the menace of food insecurity, inflation, unemployment and hunger in Nigeria.
Speaking, she said, “following our President, Akinwumi Adesina’s visit to this university, he was very impressed about what he saw and the potential. He told me to come here directly to talk with the Vice Chancellor and the Director Centre for Dryland Agriculture and see how African Development can sport this very impressive effort we see on the ground.”
Danford identified the critical role advanced science and technology play in revolutionizing agriculture, not only in Nigeria but worldwide.
In her words: “We saw scientists working on improved varieties and soil testing to ensure that farmers are planting the right crops.
“We found out that with the intervention in 2023 through the National Agriculture Growth Scheme supported by AfDB, we were able to get a heat-tolerant wheat variety,” she noted.
She further said such effort would help farmers to plant climate adaptive approved varieties of 150,000 hectres of wheat.
She added that it would also increase yield from 2.8 metric tonnes to over 4 tonnes per hectre, apart from improving livelihood, innovation, entrepreneurship and food production.
On his part, the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Professor Sagir Adamu Abbas, earlier commended the enormous effort by the bank to transform agriculture.
Professor Abbas highted the success stories of the answer, including the partnership and the grant the center has received from the World Bank and MacArthur Foundation.
Responding to journalists at the sideline of the meeting, the CDA Director, Jibrin Muhammad Jibrin, said the centre is partnering with the bank on three areas which include climate adoption, youth and entrepreneurship and modern and climate adaptation.
He also highlighted that the centre is in collaboration with institutions and communities, saying it has adopted 22 adopted communities in its catchment area.
The Vice President accompanied by the bank’s senior officials were taken for a facility tour to the Food and feed Analysis Laboratory, Molecular and Microbiology Laboratory, Centre for Instrumentation Laboratory and the university’s farm.
