Yobe, Malaysia partner on irrigation farming – Bego

Yobe state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, has disclosed of government’s plan to partner with a Malaysian agroindustrial firm, Marditech Corporation, towards providing irrigation extension-service training to the bulk of the farmers in the state.
A press statement by spokesman to the governor, Abdullahi Bego quoted Gaidam as saying the irrigation extension services will be provided through the Yobe state Special Irrigation Schemes in Nguru Lake, Boloram, and Mugura Garin Gada where land has been made available for take-off.
The governor revealed this yesterday, following a meeting with the executive chairman of Marditech Corporation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Haji Zolkifili Mahmud and other top management staff of the company.
The governor, who was given a detailed briefing on the range of services that MardiCorp provides, said the state government had established irrigation schemes in Nguru Lake, Mugura Garin Gada and Boloram areas of Nguru and Gaidam local government areas, respectively covering an initial (but expandable) land area of over 600 hectares and is poised to ensure that food production is greatly enhanced in the state.
“This is why we are exploring this partnership.
Our intention is to see whether we can engage the services of MardiCorp in training our extension workers and irrigation farmers tapping from the company’s long years of experience and expertise across many countries so that the take-off of our irrigation schemes could be more successful,” the governor said.
MardiCorp had previously worked in several countries in Africa and Asia, including in Kano, Ogun and Ondo states in Nigeria.
MardiCorp CEO, Haji Zolkifili Mahmud, said in addition to irrigation services, his company will propose to “transform agriculture in Yobe state”, especially through commodity crop development, including vegetables, livestock, the establishment of model farm estates, and big data and analytics for agrotrade.
“The model farm estates will seek to create entrepreneurship in young agric graduates by creating enabling environment with modern farming practices,” Mahmud said.