By Maryam Yau Dutse
The Jigawa Agricultural Transformation Agency (JATA) has hosted a national training workshop aimed at strengthening agricultural extension services and accelerating the adoption of improved technologies in maize, rice and wheat production across Nigeria.
The five-day workshop, which commenced on Monday, September 7, 2026, at the Manpower Development Institute in Dutse, brought together 100 extension master-trainers and agricultural experts from Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states.
The programme was organised in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, African Development Bank (AfDB), Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP), research institutions and development partners.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Director-General of JATA, Dr. Saifullahi Umar, said the workshop was critical to addressing the gap between agricultural innovations and their practical adoption by farmers.
He said Nigeria already had access to improved crop varieties, climate-smart agricultural practices, mechanisation technologies, irrigation solutions and other innovations, but stressed that the major challenge remained delivering the right knowledge to farmers at the right time.
According to him, the workshop should not be regarded merely as a five-day training programme, but as the beginning of a 12-month cascade training expected to strengthen frontline extension personnel and ultimately reach at least 500,000 farmers.
The JATA Director-General explained that Jigawa State was pursuing an agricultural transformation agenda that links production with extension services, finance, markets, infrastructure, research and investment.
He explained that the state had recruited and trained 1,700 extension personnel and equipped them with motorcycles to improve their mobility and presence in farming communities.
Dr. Umar also disclosed that the state was establishing Agricultural Development and Farm Service Centres to serve as one-stop platforms where farmers could access extension advice, quality inputs, mechanisation services, production information, aggregation support, market linkages and referrals to financial services.
He added that Jigawa had established the Jigawa Farm Mechanisation Service Company with a fleet of 400 tractors, alongside harvesters, sprayers and other agricultural equipment.
The Director-General further highlighted the state’s irrigation interventions, including the rehabilitation of dams and deployment of 6,000 solar-powered irrigation systems, aimed at expanding dry-season farming and reducing farmers’ dependence on fossil-fuel-powered irrigation.
He stressed that the state’s agricultural transformation agenda was designed to move beyond increasing production to building competitive value chains that would translate productivity gains into higher incomes and improved livelihoods.
On extension reforms, Dr. Umar called for a shift from traditional one-way agricultural messaging to a more professional, demand-driven and problem-solving approach.
He identified six areas of reform, including commodity- and location-specific advisory services, participatory farmer learning, stronger public-private collaboration, results-based monitoring, continuous professional development and digitalised agricultural data management.
He urged the master-trainers to see themselves not simply as trainers but as facilitators who would mentor frontline extension workers, interpret agricultural technologies according to local conditions and ensure that farmers’ experiences and challenges were communicated back to researchers and policymakers.
Speaking on digital agriculture, the JATA boss said technologies such as farmer registries, geospatial mapping, mobile advisory platforms, remote sensing and digital dashboards could significantly improve the reach and effectiveness of extension services.
He, however, cautioned that digital platforms should complement rather than replace human extension workers.
According to him, the most effective approach is a combination of digital information, trusted human interaction, field demonstrations and communication in local languages.
Dr. Umar also emphasised the importance of inclusiveness in agricultural transformation, noting that women, young people, persons with disabilities, smallholder farmers and communities with limited digital connectivity must not be excluded.
He urged participants to ensure that the knowledge acquired during the workshop translated into measurable outcomes at the grassroots.
The master-trainers, he said, should return to their respective states with clear action plans identifying target locations, extension personnel, farmer groups, demonstration sites, delivery channels, partners, timelines and measurable indicators.
He also called on development partners and research institutions to provide continued technical support, updated training materials, specialist access and opportunities for peer learning beyond the workshop.
Dr. Umar expressed Jigawa State’s readiness to continue working with the Federal Government, AfDB, TAAT, NAGS-AP, CGIAR centres, research institutions, neighbouring states, private-sector organisations and farmer groups to build an extension system capable of rapidly scaling agricultural innovations.
He pointed out that the success of Nigeria’s food-security ambitions would ultimately depend on what happens in farmers’ fields.
“Extension is the bridge that makes these elements work together,” he said.
The workshop is expected to enhance the capacity of extension master-trainers in climate-smart agriculture, soil health, seed systems, integrated pest management, digital advisory services, inclusive extension approaches, market development, agricultural finance, contract farming and farm-business management, among other areas.
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