YAP Proposal #203: Rice production and processing (Caleb Yakubu, Nigeria)

My name is Caleb Yakubu a graduate of Department of Geography Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. I am 36 years old an indigene of Jaba LGA of Kaduna state, Nigeria. I have a great passion for rice farming and processing.

I intend to give services to people through the raising and selling of good-quality seedlings, project planning and management, and marketing of rice produce in Kaduna state.

The project is targeted at increasing supply of rice both locally and internationally, which will cover the gap on banned importation of the product. We hope to train and empower local farmers. We will empower them through voluntary advisory services in improved and modern agricultural technologies to will create a country free from food insecurity and unemployment.

I have 20 acres of land on which we hope to drill boreholes to help in irrigation. These will ease implementation of the services and project management.

The project is expected to produce a minimum of 27 tonnes of rice on the 20 acres of land in the first season, and this is meant to run at least thrice a year.

The project will use farming operations and activities friendly to ecosystems. It will also provide opportunities for youth living with HIV/AIDS and those with disabilities to be involved in the project activities, such as planting, irrigation, weeding, harvesting, and drying.

We will use rice seeds, which are approved (certified) by the national seed certified agency, or the ones produced by researchers at JICA (Japan international cooperation agency). This will focus on promoting farming as a business by establishing a role-model farm, empowering the youth through training, so that they can actively participate in modern farming practices.

It will enhance useful planning and self-reliance in the community, especially amongst the youth, increasing people’s incomes through the creation of jobs, production of quality rice seeds for increased productivity, and national self-reliance. And the project has planned to recruit and train farm workers, conduct agronomic activities, like land-clearing, cultivation, planting, weeding, spraying, harvesting, drying, processing, packaging, and marketing; as well as supervision of farm activities.

The project will be headed by a project coordinator assisted by head of projects planning, monitoring, evaluation, and fundraising and programmes manager post-harvest handling, agro-processing, value addition, and marketing with the efforts of permanent and causal workers.

The land has already been acquired on lease and support for preparation, inputs, management and transport and communication will be needed. Below is a breakdown of the budget

1. 300 USD to be spent on land clearing.
2. 2000 USD for borehole
3. 500 USD seedlings
4. 600 USD training of staff
5. 200 USD planting
6. 200 USD first weeding
7. 500 USD fertilizer
8. 200 USD 2^nd weeding
9. Harvest 100 USD
10. Threshing, winnowing and bagging 500 USD.

Thank you for your interest about increasing food security and value addition in Kaduna state Nigeria.

Blogpost and picture submitted by Caleb Yakubu (Nigeria) – calebcom007(at)gmail.com