Arid Nigerian Region Turns to Science to Improve Crop Harvests

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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

The yields of crops grown around villages such as Sabon Gari Ganu in Nigerias northern Katsina state have fallen as a result of lower soil fertilities and competition for good farming land.
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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the local government have paired to improve crop yields, working out of basic local offices such as this one.
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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

Research institutions donated improved seed varieties to IFAD and the Nigerian governments projects. Farmers in Sabon Gari Ganu divided their land into rows, each row containing a different seed variety.
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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

The farmers watched carefully to see which varieties grew the best. After they voted on their choices, donors and the local government pledged more seeds of the best four varieties.
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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

Kabir R. Charanchi, a chief agricultural officer for the Katsina State Government (left), looks with local farmers at a few of the choice seed varieties.
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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

Farmer Abdul Malik shows several of the seed varieties tested in Sabon Gari Ganu. Improved varieties helped Malik improve his crop yield this year from 10 to 15 or 16 100kg bags.
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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

Since new varieties of cotton were introduced earlier this year, crop yields have skyrocketed. One vendor collected 100 bags of grain; he used to collect 20.
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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

IFAD has also funded and stocked this infirmary, which sells medicines to keep local livestock healthy.
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Credit: Elizabeth Dickinson

Life is a little easier for Talatu Adamu, 27, (right) and her seven children (seen among this group) since the program started. She is part of a womens group that uses some of the increased crop yield to feed chickens, which are sold for income.