Meet Aminu Ndakogi, 27 years old rice farmer from Kanko town in Wushishi local government area of Niger State. Mr Aminu Ndakogi is a graduate of Computer Science but because farming is part of his family heritage, he decided to go back to farming after graduating from the University.
He has over 20 years’ experience in rice farming if you include the trips he made to the farm with his parents, as a young boy. With rice farming, Aminu has been able to acquire 2 houses, in fact in his community they call him a ‘young millionaire’. Aminu presently cultivates 3 hectares of land.
He said some of the challenges he is faced with is funding because he wants to expand his farmland, so he can run a mechanised farm. He also wants the government to improve the road network that links his village to other neighbouring villages because it costs more to move his produce to markets and off takers. He would like them to help farmers by tackling the issue of ‘ghost farmers’ because they make it impossible for any support programs rolled out to get to the real farmers and have the desired impact. He sees farming as way of life.
His advice to newcomers and intending farmers? “Stay focused and attend as many relevant trainings as possible to expand your knowledge”
The next time you are eating your ‘party jollof’ or ‘coconut rice’ spare a thought for Aminu and other rice farmers like him.