The Kano state government has expressed its commitment to devote resources to improve the lives and livelihoods of women, recognizing the crucial role they play in economic and social development.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Danjuma Mahmud, stated this in a message at the flag-off ceremony for the distribution of rams and goats to women in Tudun Wada, Doguwa, and Bebeji local government areas. This initiative is being carried out by the state government under the Kano State Agro-pastoral Development Project (KSADP).
Represented by the Director of Administration in the Ministry, Alhaji Muhammad Tukur Jalal, the commissioner said the government intends to empower women with skills, resources, and opportunities, enabling them to take care of their families and become more active participants in nation-building.
“The government is committed to supporting women with productive assets, such as the ram fattening and goat reproduction schemes, to assist women, especially those at the grassroots, in gaining an economic foothold,” he stated.
He further mentioned that the distribution of rams and goats will cover all 44 local government areas of the state and will be strictly monitored to ensure that the process is not manipulated.
The Commissioner, therefore, charged the beneficiaries to take good care of the livestock and ensure that they are not sold for frivolous reasons.
In his remarks, the State Programme Coordinator of the Kano State Agro-pastoral Development Project (KSADP), Malam Ibrahim Garba Muhammad, explained that 50 women will benefit from the scheme in each of the 44 local government areas of the state.
“About 3,474 citizens of the state have received cows, rams, and goats under the first phase of the program. The essence is to help the beneficiaries improve their income and living standards,” he emphasized.
Malam Ibrahim maintained that the KSADP, funded by the Islamic Development Bank, the Lives and Livelihood Funds, and the government of Kano state, is executing several capital projects and programs across the state with the overall goal of contributing to reducing poverty and strengthening food and nutrition security by developing agro-pastoral production systems.
Others who spoke during the occasion, including Abubakar A. Yaro, the Tudun Wada local Government Community Reorientation Committee Chairman, Alhaji Ahmad Tijjani Rugu-rugu, the local government branch chairman of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and a Senior Special Assistant to the state governor, Aisha Tamburawa, thanked the state government for its attention to women’s development and hoped that this trend would be maintained.
