The National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) has procured five million date seedlings to be distributed to 11 states to boost commercial date production and protect the environment.
The Director General of the Agency, Mr Saleh Abubakar, made this known when he paid a courtesy call to the Emir of Dutse in Jigawa State on Thursday.
Abubakar said that the agency was in Jigawa state to seal the date deal and inspect the seedlings before the final distribution to affected states.
“Dutse is Nigeria’s hub for date production and based on our estimates, the five million date seedlings can generate about N300 billion annually for the country, in the next few years.
NSE, Asset Rise, Lancaster Farms sign MoU to boost food security
“Also, we realised that 20 date seedlings can generate about N12m annually, when the seedlings begin bearing fruits in the next few years.
“This shows that the country has the potential of becoming a great exporter of dates sooner than later,” Abubakar said.
He commended the Dutse Emirate for its hospitality and its readiness to share its abundant resources at the national and international scale.
Responding, the Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Hamim Sanusi, commended the agency for its foresight in exploring the potentials of Jigawa state.
Sanusi called on relevant agencies in the country to advocate for proper utilization of the abundant land, sunlight and other resources available to boost commercial agriculture.
The emir reflected on how his father, late Emir Muhammadu Sanusi, sent a delegation to Morocco to explore new date farming techniques.
He explained that the late emir was passionate about Jigawa state developing its skills on the new ways of date production.
The royal father pledged continuous support for the agency and other bodies coming to explore the potential of Jigawa state for the benefit of the country.
In his remarks, the Consultant for the date seedlings project in Jigawa, Mr Bashir Aminu, said Jigawa state can boost production of about 150 species of date which many countries cannot even produce.
Aminu said that his company, Sulaiman Agro Allied Company has the capacity to produce date seedlings for commercial farming in the country.
BRANDECONOMY reports that the NAGGW team visited several date plantations in Dutse metropolis to ensure safety of already purchased seedlings.
