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The Father of Modern Farming In Nigeria: Late Garba Ammani Funtua

Katsina City News
03 Jul, 2024
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From the Citation of UMYU

The late Alhaji Garba Ammani was born on the 10 of October 1934 into the family of Alhaji Muhammadu Ammani. He had his early education at Elementary School, Funtua, from 1944 to 1949. He then head to Katsina Middle School, Katsina, from 1949 to 1952.

Alhaji Garba Ammani also attended Samari School College of Nigerian Police, Kaduna, from 1952 to

1953. He also attended the Man of War Bay Course in 1954. He was one of the early beneficiaries of

Scientific Practical Farming at the Kafinsoli Farm Training Center, Kafinsoli, Katsina.

Alhaji Garba Ammani served the people of Katsina (then under the Kaduna state) in different capacities. He was the then District Scribe of Katsina, Mashi Musawa and Jibia from 1955 to 1956.

As one of the most celebrated modern farmers in the old Kaduna state, Garba Ammani served in the Ministry of Agriculture (Produce Division) of Northern Nigeria and the North Central States from 1956 to 1976, spanning about twenty (20) years. He retired from the civil service in 1976, marking the beginning of his agricultural enterprise.

Alhaji Garba became the first farmer to be given a tractor as the largest farmer throughout the enclave of Funtua Agricultural Development Project in 1974, two years before his retirement.

His rise in the agricultural sector of the country actually began when he was appointed as one of the committee members of the Funtua Agricultural Development Project that represented farmers in Nigeria.

He eventually became the leading practical producer of cotton in the country and campaigned seriously for the need for famers to turn their attention to its production in order to boost their income and thus improve their living standard.

Garba Ammani is remembered today as the largest individual producer of crop and fruits like

maize, grape, and guava in Nigeria. Interestingly, he was the only individual practical farmer that the then Nigeria’s Head of State.

General Muhammadu Buhari officially visited his farm on 11” May 1985.

Garba Amman’s feat did not stop there; he went on to accomplish what no individual farmer could at that period by selling about 15, 000 (fifteen thousand) tonnes of maize, amounting to N700,000 (seven hundred thousand naira) in the 1982-1983 cropping season.

Alhaji Ammani became the first farmer in the Northwest sub-region to introduce ploughing and breaking of ridges in farmlands during the dry season in order to effectively manage pest and diseases and to increase soil aeration and the control of weed before planting. Record has it that farmers have adopted this system in Nigeria.

Large-scale farming is one of the accomplishments of this great farmer. He notably managed well over 2000 hecters of farmlands. To cap it all, he was successful that he received fertilizer allocation directly from the Federal Government since 1979. It was reported that he used over 100 trailers of fertilizer annually.

Garba Ammani eventually became a supplier of seeds to all the states of the country through the National Seed Council. He founded a variety of maize that he named ammani variety, the type that matured between 70 to 80 days after planting. The variety has been in use across the country.

Alhaji Garba Ammani hada stunning employment record rate of about 5000 workers in 2013 as one of the largest employers of labour in the country. He also held many positions such as:

Chairman, Ammani Enterprises Ltd

Chairman, Ammani Agro Alied Ltd

Grand Patron, Drought Relief Committee in the old Kaduna State

Director of Agricultural Production Development Company (APDC)

Director, Leventis Company Limited, Lagos

Director, Agricultural Seeds Council Limited

Adviser, Agricultural Production Institute of Agricultural Research, ABU Zaria

Adviser, International Institute on Tropical Agriculture (lITA), University of lbadan

Member, Katsina Emirate Council

Adviser to the Federal Government on Agriculture

Founder, Practicing Farmers Association of Nigeria (founded in September 1995)

National Deputy President, Practicing Farmers Association of Nigeria (PFAN)