Romo Farmers Turn to Wives for Support as Fertiliser Costs, Poor Roads Threaten Food Production .

Romo, a farming community of about 10,000 residents in Bagwai Local Government Area of Kano State, is regarded as one of the major food-producing communities in Kano North, supplying large quantities of grains and vegetables to the area

The community accounts for a significant share of agricultural production in Bagwai, producing an estimated 30 tonnes of grains per season, including rice, millet, sorghum, maize, soybeans and groundnuts.

Although Bagwai is widely known for large-scale tomato production, farmers in Romo also contribute substantially to the vegetable supply chain, with tomato farming forming an important part of the community’s agricultural activities.

A recent visit to the community by a BizPoint reporter showed that farming remains the dominant economic activity despite challenges including inadequate water supply, poor road infrastructure and the rising cost of fertiliser.

Yet, amid these difficulties, women in Romo have emerged as an important source of financial support for farmers, helping their husbands raise money to purchase farm inputs.

Farmers Rely on Wives to Buy Fertiliser

For 35-year-old farmer Sufyanu Ibrahim, who cultivates about three hectares of farmland, farming remains the only reliable means of livelihood despite the difficulties confronting farmers.

Ibrahim, who grows rice, soybeans, maize and tomatoes, identified the high cost of fertiliser as one of the biggest challenges facing farmers in the community.

He said many farmers increasingly rely on their wives to raise money for fertiliser and other farm inputs, with some women selling livestock, household furniture and even portions of land to provide financial support.

“We are facing challenges in our farming. Imagine a farming town without water and roads. However, we are not deterred by these challenges because we cannot abandon farming as it is our only business. Farming is the history of Romo Town.

“We get some support from government, but that is insignificant. Our major source of support is our women. Our wives sell off their goats, furniture and even pieces of plots to lend us money to buy fertiliser.

“After harvest at the end of the season, we pay them their money. This is how we get support to do our farming,” Ibrahim said.

According to him, the arrangement has become a common practice among farming households, with women expecting their money to be repaid after the harvest.

He said farmers make efforts to honour the informal loans because the same support may be needed again during the next farming season.

Farmers Seek Subsidised Inputs, Better Roads

Ibrahim appealed to the Kano State Government to make fertiliser more affordable for farmers, saying lower input costs would reduce their dependence on loans from their wives.

He also called for the provision of improved seeds to farmers, saying access to modern varieties would increase yields and improve household incomes.

“This will really boost food production and improve our incomes,” he said.

The farmer further appealed for improved road infrastructure in Romo, saying better roads would make it easier for farmers to transport their produce from farms to markets.

“I also appeal to the state government to provide roads for us. That will help us transport our farm produce with ease and would boost food production in this area,” he said.

SAPZ Intervention Brings Relief

Given Romo’s importance to agricultural production, the community has also benefited from an intervention under the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme.

The initiative provided the community with a 10,000-litre solar-powered borehole as part of efforts to improve water access and support agro-processing activities, particularly tomato, rice, sesame and groundnut production in Kano.

SAPZ is a flagship agricultural development programme supported by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in collaboration with the Nigerian government.

The programme aims to transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector by concentrating agro-processing activities in designated zones, with the objectives of increasing productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, creating jobs and improving farmers’ incomes.

At the time of filing this report, the borehole had been commissioned and was already providing water to residents.

Borehole Serves Seven Communities

Bashir Alkassim, a member of the community and an official of the Romo Ward Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative Society, expressed appreciation to SAPZ for providing the facility.

Alkassim, an agro-product dealer, said the borehole was provided after the association formally requested assistance to address the water shortage affecting farmers, traders and residents.

“We have gotten the donation of this borehole from SAPZ. We sent a request to SAPZ that, as farmers and agro-product dealers, we were faced with water scarcity to run our businesses.

“Even in the market, the traders and customers, everybody needs water. Lack of water was a serious setback to our market and, by extension, our community and its environs.

“So, we held a meeting as an association and decided to formally send a request to SAPZ to provide a source of water for us.

“To our surprise and delight, within a month after sending our request, the borehole was provided. This is commendable and worth appreciating,” Alkassim said.

The 36-year-old farmer said the facility currently serves about seven communities as well as the local market.

They include Romo Kofar Fada, Romo Unguwar Mahauta, Unguwar Barebari, Kofar Arewa, Rinji and Galadimawa.

According to him, the borehole operates daily from noon to 6pm and provides more than 20,000 litres of water to community members every day.

Community Sets Up Maintenance Committee

Alkassim said the cooperative had constituted a committee to oversee the maintenance of the facility and ensure its sustainability.

He added that Yusuf Usman, a member of the community, had been appointed to operate the facility and manage crowd control.

The intervention, he said, had significantly reduced the hardship associated with water scarcity in the community.

Speaking on behalf of the cooperative and residents of Romo, Alkassim expressed appreciation to SAPZ and its officials for the intervention.

“We are short of words to thank the SAPZ and its vibrant and humble officials. Thank you very much. We are grateful,” he said.

For farmers in Romo, however, access to water is only one part of a much bigger challenge. While the new borehole is expected to ease water shortages, farmers continue to contend with expensive fertiliser, inadequate roads and limited access to improved farm inputs.

Despite these challenges, agriculture remains central to the community’s economy, with farmers and their families continuing to cultivate the land in a bid to sustain their livelihoods and contribute to food production in Kano State.

cov/Biz point