45 hectares of barren, almost desert land carefully divided in several well demarcated plots with, in parts, buildings, poultry houses and roads that have nothing to compare with a boulevard, even though they are in laterite. Despite the scarcity of rains and the poor access to water, despite the heat of the scorching sun that puts a strain on the skin, pepper, okra, onion, tomato, cabbage, watermelon, lettuce, papaya , banana, pineapple, corn, sorghum, etc. grow extremely well on this dry land fed with organic fertilizers and maintained by effective microorganisms.
In buildings, huts on stilts, poultry houses, enclosures, improved chicken, laying hens, quails, ducks, geese, guinea fowls, grasscutters, goats, cows, etc. have a joyful life, cared for by technicians in animal production. While some buildings are meant for workshops where several machines used for processing are exhibited, others are used for soybean processing plants and juice, syrup and drinking water production. Other infrastructures are pools, with more than eighty thousand (80,000) big catfish and tilapias jumping at the slightest drop of pellets in the water.
On the East Side, imposing buildings – hotel, conference rooms, administration block – and a series of bungalows, plus a small mosque and a shop capture attention and arouse admiration. In this setting, men and women are busy working. Welcome to Makera (Dutsin-Ma), one of the three sites with a Songhai initiative in Katsina State (Northern Nigeria).
It is this masterpiece, fruit of the partnership agreement signed on May 14, 2012 between Songhai Regional Centre and Katsina State Local Government that Ibrahim Shema, Governor of Katsina State, officially commissioned on Thursday, May 21, 2015. Very proud to see this project for which he had been at the forefront, Ibrahim Shema assures of the positive change it will bring to the youths of his state in agriculture, now marked by innovative and authentic production technologies in Katsina. With the Songhai Katsina initiative, it is sustainable development and Ibrahim Shema nourishes the hope that this development will impact beyond Katsina State, the whole Nigeria.
Songhai Katsina Initiative is made of three sites in three different locations for a total amount of more than 3.4 billion Naira. Outside the Makera and Mairuwa sites, Sabké site is not open yet. This is a challenge, with finishing works in Makera for which 2.7 million Naira remains to be mobilized. Ibrahim Shema whose renewed mandate ended on May 29, 2015, prays that his successor, Aminu Bello Masari, continues in the same vein and take up these challenges to ensure the sustainability of this work of integrated and sustainable development.
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