The National Agency for the Great Green Wall has purchased five million date seedlings to be distributed to 11 states to boost commercial date production and protect the environment.

NAGGW’s director-general, Saleh Abubakar, said this when he paid a courtesy call to the Emir of Dutse in Jigawa State on Thursday.

Mr Abubakar said the agency was in Jigawa to seal the date deal and inspect the seedlings before the final distribution to affected states.

“Also, we realised that 20 date seedlings can generate about N12 million annually when the seedlings begin bearing fruits in the next few years. This shows that the country has the potential of becoming a great exporter of dates sooner than later,” Mr Abubakar said.

He commended the Dutse Emirate for its hospitality and readiness to share its abundant resources on both national and international scales.

Responding, the Emir of Dutse, Hamim Sanusi, commended the agency for its foresight in exploring the potential of Jigawa.

Mr Sanusi called on relevant agencies in the country to advocate for proper utilisation of the abundant land, sunlight and other resources available to boost commercial agriculture.

In his remarks, the consultant for the date seedlings project in Jigawa, Bashir Aminu, said Jigawa could boost the production of about 150 species of date, which many countries cannot even produce.

Mr Aminu said that his company, Sulaiman Agro Allied Company, has the capacity to produce date seedlings for commercial farming in the country.

The NAGGW team visited several date plantations in the Dutse metropolis to ensure the safety of already purchased seedlings. 

(NAN)