Kano State Agro-pastoral Project, KSADP, has disclosed that it has spent about N800 million on various training programmes for stakeholders, including direct beneficiaries and workers. The Project Coordinator, Ibrahim Garba Muhammad, said the training was designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills required to sustain the project’s development goals.
According to him, “The training aims to ensure that the beneficiaries can effectively contribute to executing the project’s development objective and ensuring sustainability after the project’s closure.”
He made this known at the opening of a training workshop on animal insemination at the Kadawa Artificial Insemination Center, supported by KSADP. The workshop was organised for animal husbandry technicians and livestock staff of the Kano State Ministry of Agriculture. Garba explained that the capacity building programmes were developed to improve the skills, knowledge, and resources of beneficiaries.
Speaking on the specific training, he said, “It is part of the broader objective of the project to re-introduce Artificial Insemination, towards ensuring sustainable livestock development in the state.”
Kano remains one of the country’s leading livestock hubs, with over 1.21 million agricultural households engaged in cattle rearing, 1.46 million in goats, and 1.15 million in sheep. Figures from the sub-national GDP for Kano State indicate that livestock contributed over N1.73 trillion in 2023.
Garba further revealed that apart from renovating the Kadawa Artificial Insemination Center, the KSADP, which is funded by the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihoods Fund, has also procured five exotic bulls and modern equipment. He said this was part of efforts to revive the center, which had been abandoned.
“Just recently, we saw the need to further upgrade the center so, we have earmarked N125 million for this, which will include provision of certain inputs, fence reconstruction etc. We will also establish a two-hectare fodder farm in the vicinity of the center for feed availability,” he added.
He urged the trainees to justify the investment by paying close attention to the modules, noting that “the expectation of the project, for breed improvement and incremental milk production, will not be achieved if you do not work efficiently.”
One of the trainees, Sulaiman Audu, expressed gratitude to the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihoods Fund for supporting the training. He said the knowledge gained would have a positive impact on their work and careers.
The workshop, conducted in collaboration with the Federal College of Agricultural Produce Technology, Kano, covers theoretical and practical lessons on artificial insemination, including semen collection, freezing, storage, animal health, breed selection, and record-keeping.
