The Project Manager of AGRA Kaduna project consortium project, Professor Chris Daudu has postulated that farmers under its program will produce 4.5 million metric tonnes of maize.

Speaking while presenting an overview of the project in Zaria, Prof Daudu noted that there will be an overall increase in food production at the end of the project.

For instance, he disclosed there will be an increase in rice production to 4.7m metric tonnes, soya beans to 2.1m metric tonnes, as well as cowpeas to 2.0m and tomatoes to 2.4m metric tonnes.

He noted that this is encouraging as it shows that with availability of food, thousands of farmers will be able to earn more income to improve their living conditions.

“That’s the idea about the whole project to have enough food in the state and by extension the region as well as the country.

“We envisaged that Kaduna state can feed Kaduna state, Kaduna state should feed Kaduna state. And I believe Kaduna state will feed a significant proportion of Northwestern Nigeria.”

Earlier, the Executive Director, Nigeria Agricultural Extension and Liason Services (NAELS), Professor Emmanuel Ikani said Kaduna is the leading producer of maize in the country.

According to him, the time has come for the state to have a ‘maize belt’, saying, concerted effort must be put in place to sustain it by embarking on a pragmatic approach to increase its yield.

“Today, about 20% to 65%  of feeds for our chickens are derived from maize. So, you can see that maize is a valuable crop that farmers should take seriously to produce.”