Business Economy of Katsina State

Business Economy of Katsina State

The economy of the State is basically agrarian with a cultivable 2.4 million hectares of  land out of which 1.6million is under cultivation, leaving land area of 800,000 hectares, equivalent to one third of the total cultivable land available for investment. The state also has over 61 water bodies suitable for irrigation farming with a capacity of 1121CU.m. The major water bodies with a combined water surface area of 558Cum are located at Sabke, Jibia, and Gwaigwaye.

Farming and rearing of animals constitute the means of livelihoods of about 80% of the population of the state. The state is a major collection centre for cash crops such as cotton, groundnuts and food crops such as maize, guinea corn, millet, and vegetables. The range of livestock in the state is cattle, sheep, goat and poultry. These provides huge opportunities for setting up of large scale agro-allied industries such as sugar processing, rice milling, oil  and flour milling, textiles, dairy production, confectioneries, meat processing, tannery, and poultry production, etc.

The State has the following ranking in agricultural production and in other business spaces in the country:

• The largest producer of cotton;
• The second largest producer of sorghum;
•  Produces 13% of Nigeria’s sugarcane, placing it in second place in  Nigeria;
• The World Bank ranked the State 7th in ease of doing business ahead of Lagos, Kano, Rivers and Cross Rivers;
• The State ranks 12^th in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) development and growth;
•  The State was ranked 17^th   in Gross State Product with average  per capita of $6,022; and
• Major producer of other cereals and legume crops

Katsina state is blessed with abundant mineral resources that could be tapped for industrial growth. Prominent amongst these include: lead, iron oxide, gold, iron ore, manganese, kaolin, silica sands, fire clay, asbestos, feldspars, mica, serpentine, gemstones, precious stones etc.

Investment Opportunities of some selected Agricultural Raw Materials

The availability of various types of crops cultivated in the state provided an opportunity for the setting up of agro-allied industries. As previously stated, cotton , beans, tomatoes , pepper, groundnut, millet, maize and guinea-corn are raw materials for various types of industries. Leather and shoe manufacturing industries are feasible because of the availability in commercial quantity of hides and skin in all the nooks and corners of the state. Funtua textiles factory which employs over one thousand workers depends heavily on cotton being produced in Funtua, Bakori, Dandume, Sabuwa, Faskari, Danja, Dutsin-ma, Kurfi, Malumfashi and Kafur local government areas.

The availability of these raw materials offers wide ranging opportunities for setting up of more commercial and industrial ventures in the state. The two oil mills situated in Katsina and Funtua depend on groundnut and cotton seed for their raw materials requirements.