By Our Reporter,The Nation

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The International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) through its program, Soil Values, a DGIS-funded Programme, has organised a two-day training for extension agents and lead farmers on soil restoration, conservation techniques, and integrated soil fertility management.

Fifty extension workers have benefitted from the training which aims to improve soil fertility and restore degraded lands in Bauchi State.

The development follows on the heels of a similar exercise held in Kano and Jigawa states.

The Soil Values program operates in a context marked by climatic and socio-economic challenges facing Sahelian countries, such as recurrent droughts, socio-political conflicts. desertification and the effects of climate change.

The program’s initiative is built around three intervention pathways (Agroecology, Inclusive Markets and Enabling Environment) as well as five intervention areas (Bundling, integration, Brokering, Convening and Scoping & Learning)

Medinah Ayuba-Fagbemi, Country Coordinator, Soil Values Programme Nigeria, said this on the sidelines of a two-day training exercise on Thursday in Bauchi: “The Soil Values program aims to improve soil fertility and productivity of Two million hectares of agricultural land in the Sahel, while strengthening the resilience to climate shocks and well-being of 1.5 million farmers, with a particular focus on women and youth. In North Nigeria, we hope to restore 800,000 hectares, directly benefiting 600,000 smallholder farmers.”

This training is part of a €100 million initiative over a period of 10 years funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands through its Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS). She stated that a total of 50 extension workers would be trained, including 30 in the first phase and 20 in the second phase of the exercise.

Medinah, said participants would be exposed to integrated soil fertility management, soil and water conservation, and soil health management techniques, to improve soil fertility for increased crop productivity and enhance food security.

The coordinator said the participants were expected to cascade down the training and technologies to about 20,000 small holder farmers in Jama’are, Shira, Itas Gadau, Toro, Zaki and Ningi Local Government Areas, spanning across 21 communities within the state

According to Medinah, the Soil Values consortium is also collaborating with the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Program (BSADP) and the World Bank-funded projects in the state through ACReSAL and L-PRES in building the capacity of extension workers on Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) and Soil Health Management (SHM) technologies. The training exercise reflects its collective commitment towards restoring soil health, improving productivity, and building resilient farming systems of producers and agropastoralists.

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The training exercise, she said, would not only strengthen extension agents’ technical capacity but also inspire new approaches to working hand-in-hand with farmers for more sustainable and inclusive agricultural transformation.

Also, Joshua Arogunyo, MELS Coordinator, Soil Values Programme, said the programme initiated viable programmes to improve soil fertility management and restore degraded lands in Bauchi, Kano and Jigawa, adding the scope of the programme would cover 10 states in northern Nigeria.

“The thrust of the programme is to reduce the yield gap, improve soil fertility, and make farmers more deliberate about giving back to the soil to ensure long-term productivity and food security,” he said. “We are implementing it across the Sahelian zone of Nigeria because that is where land degradation is most severe,” he said.

“It is our hope that at the end of this programme, Nigeria would have made significant progress in restoring degraded lands, increasing farmer incomes, and raising consciousness about the importance of investing in soil health in a sustainable manner,” he said.

Some of the participants, Aliyu Safiyanu and Helen Ciroma, lauded the gesture, adding it would encourage Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in the state.

Safiyanu said that he learnt new skills that would enable him to teach rural farmers on how to utilise farm by-products using Bokashi to nourish their farmlands.

On her part, Ciroma said the new techniques, such as composting and Bokashi, would enable women farmers to improve their soil fertility and increase productivity.

About IFDC, soil values:

The Soil Values programme operates in a context marked by climatic and socio-economic challenges facing Sahelian countries, such as recurrent droughts, socio-political conflicts. desertification and the effects of climate change.

Accentuated by insufficient investments and inadequate financing mechanisms, these conditions exacerbate the degradation of soil fertility and health and food security in Sahelian countries.

Soil Values aims to improve soil fertility and productivity of 2 million hectares of agricultural land in the Sahel, while strengthening the resilience and well-being of 1.5 million farmers, with a particular focus on women and youth.

The program’s approach is based on integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) and participatory landscape management to promote the adoption of agricultural practices favourable to soil fertility by farmers.

The Soil Values program initiative is built around three intervention pathways (Agroecology, Inclusive Markets and Enabling Environment) and five intervention areas (Bundling, integrate, Brokering, Convening and Scoping &Learning)

Soil Values is implemented by a consortium led by IFDC, in collaboration with core partners SNV and Wageningen University and Research (WUR), as well as knowledge partners, such as AGRA, the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (ITA), ISRIC – World Soil Information, and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

The IFDC is a public international organization, present in 27 countries, that combines scientific research and interventions to enable smallholder farmers in developing countries to increase their agricultural productivity and generate economic growth while promoting sustainability.