On Monday, being 13th September 2026, a senior colleague of mine in the journalism profession gave me the privilege of joining other Benue journalists on an on-the-spot assessment of farming communities in Gwer-East and Gboko Local Government Areas to document beneficiaries' experiences and the impact of Sasakawa Africa Association's interventions.
Speaking with some of the beneficiaries, they all expressed appreciation for the support and knowledge impacted on them by the organization.
The Sasakawa Africa Association, SAA, in partnership with The Nippon Foundation, TNF, is driving agricultural transformation in Benue State through integrated extension services focused on small holder farmers.
Operating in close coordination with the Benue State Bureau of Agricultural Development and Mechanization, BADM, the project is implementing interventions across key value chains, including soybean, under its 2025 reporting period and multi-year results framework from 2023 to 2026.
SAA was established in 1986 by Japanese philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa, Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug and former US President Jimmy Carter. The organization, which is active in 12 African countries, works with governments, universities and farming communities to promote improved technologies that increase yields and household incomes.
In Benue, the project is anchored on SAA's "Walking with the Farmer" approach, integrating climate-resilient and regenerative agriculture, nutrition-sensitive production, market-oriented extension and digital tools to address climate change, land degradation and market constraints.
The interventions are structured around three strategic pillars: Climate-Resilient Agrifood Systems, which promotes conservation agriculture and soil health; Nutritious Food Systems, which encourages biofortified crops and backyard gardens; and Inclusive Market and Agribusiness Development, which trains farmers on farming as a business.
According to the project fact sheet, farmers are being linked to inputs, finance, mechanization and markets, while post-harvest losses are being reduced through hermetic storage technologies and processing centres such as Rice Value Chain Development Centres.
With its 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, SAA says its vision is to build resilient, sustainable and market-driven agrifood systems in Africa with small holder farmers at the centre, targeting 40 to 60 percent income gains and improved food and nutrition security in Benue and beyond.
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