Female rice farmers in Chuwasu and Baranda communities of Taura Local Government Area, Jigawa State, have appealed to the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) to provide them with rice milling machines to enhance their rice production and processing activities.
The farmers made the appeal during the SAA’s annual media field day, which took a team of officials and journalists on visits to Dutse, Birnin Kudu, and Taura local government areas.
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The coordinator of the Chuwasu Women Rice Farmers Association, Mrs. Uwani Adamu, said the women recorded a bumper harvest during the 2025 farming season due to the improved rice seeds and farming innovations introduced by SAA.
“We witnessed a very good harvest this year because of the improved seeds and modern farming methods we adopted through SAA’s support,” she said. “However, our major challenge now is processing. We have been trained on rice processing, but we lack the milling machines to handle our produce.”
Mrs. Adamu appealed to the organization to assist them with rice milling machines to reduce post-harvest losses and save the women from traveling long distances to process their paddy.
Similarly, another farmer from Baranda community in Dutse, Mrs. Amina Abdulrahman, expressed gratitude to SAA for empowering women in the area through group farming initiatives.
“Before SAA came, most of us only assisted our husbands on the farms. But now, we farm as organized groups and share profits collectively,” she said. “This approach has reduced our losses and increased our income.”
The District Head of the area, Mr. Turaki Ali, also commended SAA for empowering rural women with improved agricultural skills and tools that have transformed their livelihoods.
In his response, the Deputy Country Director of SAA, Dr. Abdulhamid Gambo, expressed satisfaction with the positive feedback from farmers and reaffirmed the association’s commitment to supporting smallholder farmers across Jigawa.
“We are pleased with the results being recorded in Jigawa. The success of our interventions here has been possible through the continuous support of the state government, which provided $100,000 in funding this year and granted us access to all its agricultural structures,” Dr. Gambo said.
He reiterated SAA’s dedication to strengthening interventions under its three strategic pillars — Regenerative Agriculture, Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture, and Market-Oriented Agriculture — across Jigawa and beyond.
The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) is an international agricultural organization that has supported smallholder farmers in 17 African countries for over 35 years. It is currently implementing its 2021–2025 strategic plan, focusing on sustainable agricultural practices and market-oriented growth in four key countries, including Nigeria.
