In Zamfara State, agriculture is not just another sector of the economy, nor is its development a policy option that the Governor Dauda Lawal administration can afford to treat as unimportant. First, more than 80 per cent of the state’s population is engaged in agriculture, according to the Zamfara State Ministry of Agriculture, with Governor Dauda Lawal himself asserting that the sector contributes more than 70 per cent of the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With a population of about 5.8 million people, the statistics tells a compelling story; that the fortunes of agriculture are inseparable from the fortunes of the state itself. For the state, improving agriculture means more than increased food production. It means improving livelihoods, creating employment, raising rural incomes, strengthening food security and raw materials for industries.
The main objective of the state’s agricultural policy is to position Zamfara State as a leading agricultural hub through innovative practices, sustainable food production and the empowerment of farmers. This is consistent with the Governor Dauda Lawal administration’s decision to make agriculture and food security one of the six priority areas of its agenda. More importantly, it provides a strategic framework for moving agriculture beyond seasonal farming to a more comprehensive system that addresses the agricultural chain of production—from improved seeds, water and mechanisation to extension services, storage, processing, financing, transportation and access to markets. The distinction is important: while a programme may provide fertilizer to a farmer in a planting season, a strategy must answer the question of how that farmer can produce more, earn more and remain productive beyond that particular season. It is these challenges that the Lawal administration’s agricultural agenda seeks to address.
This explains why the familiar slogan, “Farming is our Pride,” carries such deep meaning in Zamfara State. Although the slogan was not created by Governor Lawal, his administration has given it renewed significance by placing agricultural development at the very centre of its economic agenda.
Since assuming office in 2023, his administration’s interventions have ranged from the distribution of fertilizer and improved seeds to agrochemicals, irrigation support, agricultural equipment, extension services and efforts to strengthen the agricultural value chain to ensure that the farmers get value for their products. The significance of this approach becomes clearer when considered against the realities facing farmers across many northern states, where high input costs, insecurity, climate change issues, inadequate irrigation, limited access to modern equipment, and post-harvest losses have combined to make farming increasingly difficult. For a state such as Zamfara, addressing these myriad of challenges is fundamental to achieving its economic goals.
The reach of these interventions is equally significant. In 2024, Governor Lawal took the distribution of agricultural assets and inputs beyond the state capital, touring all 14 local government areas under the FADAMA III/NG-CARES agricultural recovery programme. The intervention was designed to reach farmers with essential inputs, improved seeds and farming equipment, reflecting an understanding that agricultural transformation must be felt in the rural communities where production actually takes place. By taking support directly to farmers across the state, the administration demonstrated that its agricultural policy was intended to reach the communities where farming is the mainstay of livelihoods.
One of the outstanding features of Governor Lawal administration’s agricultural policy is its emphasis on the smallholder farmer, while also encouraging commercial farming. The government’s 2025 wet-season intervention provides a striking example. In July 2025, the administration distributed 59,205 bags of fertilizer, alongside 34,800 kilogrammes of rice seeds, 80,000 kilogrammes of maize seeds, 23,740 litres of herbicides, 11,735 litres of insecticides and 23,470 sachets of seed-dressing chemicals, with 98 trucks deployed for the fertilizer distribution. These figures are significant because agricultural transformation cannot be achieved without addressing the basic constraints confronting farmers.
By making these agricultural inputs available, the state government has tackled the constraints limiting production, and the foundation for higher productivity. Improved seeds will raise yields, organic fertilizers will restore soil nutrients, and herbicides, insecticides and seed-treatment chemicals will certainly help farmers reduce losses. Combined with the support and guidance of trained extension workers, these interventions are designed to strengthen their capacity to produce more efficiently. It is this broader approach to agriculture that gives the administration’s agricultural agenda its wider economic significance.
Another important dimension is mechanisation. One of the limitations of Nigerian agriculture is its dependence on labour-intensive traditional farming methods, which limits the area a farmer can cultivate and increases the cost of production. The Lawal administration has moved to providing equipment that can improve both crop and livestock production. In the 2026 wet-season programme, for instance, the government distributed 100 crop-residue crushers, grass choppers and feed-milling machines. The significance goes beyond the equipment itself: it points to an effort to increase productivity.
The administration’s attention to dry-season farming reflects a recognition that Zamfara State farmers cannot afford to remain entirely dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Changes in rainfall patterns have disrupted production and left farmers vulnerable, but irrigation offers an opportunity to extend the farming calendar and keep agricultural activity going beyond the conventional rainy season. This explains the significance of the Governor Lawal administration’s intervention for dry-season farmers. In February 2026, the Governor launched an input distribution programme that provided 3,920 bags of NPK fertilizer, 1,956 bags of urea, 3,920 litres of herbicide, 1,956 litres of insecticide and 3,920 sachets of seed-dressing chemicals. More than an input distribution exercise, the intervention reflected a deliberate effort to make dry-season farming a major component of the state’s agricultural policy.
In Zamfara, the potential of irrigation farming extends beyond individual farmers and their incomes. A stronger dry-season farming system will increase food availability, create additional employment and help moderate seasonal fluctuations in food prices. The government’s broader emphasis on irrigation is reflected in the state’s agricultural planning, with the 2025 approved budget providing for irrigation equipment to be made available to farmers at subsidised rates, alongside other agricultural-input programmes and crop and vegetable production initiatives.
Agriculture in Zamfara State, however, is not limited to crop production. Livestock remains an important component, and the administration’s agricultural planning recognizes the connection between crop farming and animal husbandry. The 2025 budget made provisions for livestock disease management, statewide vaccination and subsidised animal-feed procurement. This integrated approach is important because crop residues can provide feed for livestock, while livestock manure will in turn support crop production. By recognising these linkages, the administration is treating agriculture as an interconnected economic ecosystem.
The question of who participates in this agricultural transformation is equally important to the administration. Hence women and youths are being targeted as active participants in a sector with the capacity to create employment and generate sustainable incomes. Which explains why it is treating agriculture as a business and a viable source of livelihood. To achieve this, it has ensured that farmers have access to land, finance, technology, quality inputs, knowledge and markets. The objective is to make farming sufficiently productive and profitable to attract a new generation of farmers and entrepreneurs.
Ultimately, however, the success of any agricultural policy will be determined by several other factors. Increased production will have limited impact if farmers are compelled to sell immediately after harvest because of inadequate storage, processing facilities, transport, and market access. This makes the development of the agricultural value chain the most important stage of Zamfara’s agricultural transformation. The administration’s engagement with development partners, including the United Nations Development Programme, and its emphasis on irrigation, inputs, storage, mechanisation and livestock is the foundation on which it is building the value-chain economy. The ultimate objective is to transform Zamfara State from a state that primarily produces agricultural commodities into one that also processes, and markets them profitably.
If Governor Lawal gets it right, Zamfara’s agricultural transformation could do more than improve the livelihoods of farmers; it could also help Nigeria conserve much-needed foreign exchange. Nigeria continues to spend millions of dollars importing agricultural commodities that can be produced locally. In 2024 alone, the country imported about US$47.9 million worth of maize, in addition to US$81.4 million spent on maize seed imports, while dry-bean imports were valued at about US$2.1 million. These figures underline the enormous economic opportunity that exists in strengthening domestic production. For a state with Zamfara’s agricultural potential, the objective goes beyond producing enough to feed its own population; the target is to reduce dependence on imports, create surpluses for processing and export, and position agriculture as a major source of wealth for its people.
Governor Dauda Lawal deserves commendation for recognising that the economic future of Zamfara State is inseparable from the prosperity of its farmers. His administration’s agricultural interventions have moved beyond the familiar cycle of seasonal activities to a broader approach that encompasses farm inputs, irrigation, mechanisation, livestock, extension services and partnerships. Yet the most compelling test of this agenda lies ahead. The ultimate measure of success will not be the number of bags of fertilizer distributed or the machines procured, but whether the farmer can produce more efficiently, sell profitably, feed his family, educate his children and reinvest in the next farming season. That is when the slogan, “Farming is Our Pride,” will acquire its fullest meaning.
If the administration sustains its present direction, deepens private-sector participation and continues investing in irrigation, processing and market access, Zamfara State can move from an economy where agriculture is a means of survival to one where farming becomes a competitive engine of wealth, employment and inclusive growth. For a state whose people have historically depended so heavily on the land, that would be more than an agricultural achievement; it would be a profound economic transformation and potentially one of the most enduring legacies of the Dauda Lawal administration.
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