The Zamfara State government has stated its readiness to enter into a partnership with the government of Sweden in furtherance of its efforts to improve agriculture and mining among other ways of boosting the economy of the state. Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, North-West, Nigeria, made the promise in Abuja recently during a courtesy visit on him by the ambassador of Sweden in Nigeria, Ms Annika Hahn-Englund. The areas of collaboration will also include renewable energy, which will also be useful for farmers, particularly in irrigation. Other areas are education and healthcare.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Sulaiman Bala Idris, the governor’s spokesperson. Governor Lawal said these are areas that will be directly beneficial to people of the state. Zamfara State is one of the first ten states producing rice in Nigeria. It also grows millet, sorghum and maize. A partnership with Sweden is capable of enhancing agricultural potentials of the state given that the European country exports vegetable, cereals, fish and seafoods.
That means that Zamfara will be able to improve its farming technics in cereals and rice with a purpose to improving the economy of the state and also contributing to food security in Nigeria.
The partnership will likely even be more beneficial to the state in mining. Zamfara today hosts a major mining site for gold. The exploration of solid mineral resources is one area the administration of President Bola Tinubu has decided to give premium attention. Therefore, the state partnering with a country like Sweden which is reputed to account for over 90% of the mining activities in Europe will give the exploration of that mineral a shot in the arm.
This is the reason there is a lot of excitement about the talks in Zamfara. The government believes that the proposed collaboration with Sweden presents a golden opportunity to achieve the goal of using the resources in the soil of the state and its agricultural potentials to boost the internally generated revenue, IGR of the state.
Elaborating on what Zamfara stands to gain from the partnership in agriculture, Governor Lawal said, Sweden has developed numerous modern agricultural techniques such as precision farming, which, if introduced to Zamfara, could help improve crop yields, thereby ensuring a more efficient food system and enhancing food security in the state.”
Ambassador Hahn-Englund reaffirmed Swedens commitment to offering technical assistance to Zamfara in key areas.