Katsina to empower farmers with ICT platform, tomatoes factory

BY ANDY ASEMOTA, Katsina

In continuation of its agricultural value chain empowerment programme, the Katsina State Government will require about two months to unleash its sustainable agricultural platform.

Speaking at an interactive session with Katsina Press Forum, the permanent secretary of the state  ministry of agriculture, Dr. Aminu Waziri, said most of the equipment needed to bridge the government, farmers and international market’s communication gap had been procured and the required structure nearly completed for the Katsina Sustainable Agricultural Platform to be commissioned in the next two months.

Waziri said: “It will give the entire farming community direct access to the ministry, gives the ministry direct access to them, and  provides platform for the farmers interact with themselves and across the globe when it comes to what to produce, how to market such products.”

He hailed the establishment of the platform as instructive as the state is one of the food and agricultural production hubs in the country.

Giving an insight into recent accomplishments of the ministry, the permanent secretary disclosed that Katsina tomatoes factory would commence operation around November this year after a long period in the pipeline.

While giving details of the project, he said: “The state decided to pick up the challenge and establish a factory that will process excess tomatoes and the factory is about 70% completed.

“The structure is about 100 per cent completed but the machines are under fabrication. We are at the third stage of the fabrication which is been done in Katsina Polytechnic.

“Based on the timeline, we believe that around November or so, we should be able to mount and commission the plant.”

According to him, the factory would be community owned and be an entirely different economic fortune for the people in Danja Local Government Area axis including those that really produce tomatoes across the state.

His words: “We so much believe that product has a lot of economic fortunes for farmers, for the state and for everyone in the entire value chain.

“Unfortunately, those who engage in that kind of farming lose a lot because not more than 30 per cent of it is consumed internally and locally while more than 70 per cent are left at the mercy of the sun shine to dry.”

Waziri was confident that the government had recorded a big breakthrough in the agricultural sector, particularly in areas where it’s collaborating with federal government and international donor agencies.