Namadi Bets on Science, Research to Drive Jigawa’s Agricultural Revolution Governor highlights climate-smart farming, irrigation and investment as keys to food security and higher yields By Musa Abubakar|Duste

 Duste: Jigawa State Governor, Malam Umar Namadi, has identified agricultural research, science-driven innovation and sustained investment as critical to transforming farming, improving food security and raising farmers’ incomes, warning that traditional methods alone can no longer meet the demands of a growing population and a changing climate.

Namadi spoke on Monday while delivering the keynote address at the 11th National Annual Conference of the Crop Science Society of Nigeria (CSSN), held at the Nuhu Muhammad Sunusi Auditorium of Federal University Dutse.

Gov.Namadi receiving award from organizers of the Science project in Federal University Duste

The conference, themed “Advancing Sustainable Crop and Climate-Smart Technology for Food Security and Economic Growth”, brought agricultural research and innovation into focus as Nigeria grapples with the challenge of increasing food production amid climate pressures.

“A farmer with a hoe and old seeds cannot out-produce climate change,” the governor said, calling for stronger research institutions, improved farming technologies and policies that enable farmers to adopt more productive and sustainable practices.

He said agriculture remained central to his administration’s 12-Point Agenda, supported by the Jigawa State Agricultural Policy 2024–2030 and the State Agricultural Investment Plan.

According to him, the government has repositioned the Jigawa State Agricultural Research Institute, supported postgraduate research through its Wheat Value Chain Research Programme and facilitated advanced studies for more than 80 academics from the state in relevant agricultural disciplines.

Namadi said partnerships with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), AfricaRice, CGIAR institutions and the Sasakawa Africa Association had produced encouraging results, with demonstration projects recording rice yield increases of between 43 and 48 per cent and sorghum yield improvements of more than 60 per cent compared with farmers’ conventional practices.

He stressed, however, that the value of agricultural research lay not merely in scientific publications but in its practical application to farming.

“The true test of science is not publication alone, but adoption: better varieties, healthier soils, more efficient water use, lower losses, higher yields, and stronger farmer incomes,” he said.

To improve farmers’ access to technical support, the governor disclosed that the state had deployed about 1,700 J-AGRO extension agents and distributed 1,185 motorcycles in 2026 to strengthen agricultural advisory services at community level.

He said the government had also established a digital farmer database and input voucher system intended to ensure that agricultural support reached genuine farmers.

Other initiatives include Climate-Smart Agriculture Centres, 20 modern greenhouses for technology demonstration and vegetable production, and plans to extend mobile veterinary services to all 287 wards in the state.

Namadi said improved extension services were essential to ensuring that research findings translated into higher productivity, better incomes and more resilient farming systems.

On irrigation, he highlighted collaboration with the Federal Government to develop approximately 18,000 hectares in the Hadejia axis, alongside the provision of 6,000 solar-powered irrigation pumps and borehole-based facilities for upland farming.

He added that more than 250,000 farmers had benefited from agricultural inputs, mechanisation and irrigation support over the past three years, while the 2026 wet-season fertiliser programme targeted 90,000 farmers.

Beyond production, the governor said his administration was developing 200 integrated rice-processing clusters and supporting investments in the processing of rice, sesame, hibiscus and wheat.

The initiatives, he said, were designed to improve value addition, reduce post-harvest losses and expand market opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses.

Namadi called for stronger collaboration among governments, universities, research institutions, development partners and private investors, arguing that agricultural research must respond directly to farmers’ needs and the wider economy.

At the conference, the governor was conferred with the Fellowship of the Crop Science Society of Nigeria in recognition of his administration’s agricultural initiatives and contributions to the development of the sector in Jigawa State.

The challenge ahead, however, will be to sustain the investments, broaden farmers’ access to improved technologies and translate reported gains from demonstration projects into measurable, long-term improvements in agricultural productivity, food availability and rural livelihoods.