IFAD commends Governor kefas efforts to revolutionise agriculture in Taraba

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has commended Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba, for taking steps to revolutionise the agriculture sector within a short time in office.

Mr Irimiya Musa, Taraba State Programme Coordinator (SPC), IFAD’s Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), gave the commendation on Saturday, at the end of a two- day training in Jalingo.

The training was on 2023 Crop Area Yield Survey (CAYS) in rice and cassava production, for IFAD-VCDP staff from nine implementing states across the country.

Musa particularly commended Governor Kefas for changing the name of the state’s Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development to Ministry for Agriculture and Food Security.

According to him, “The step will reposition the ministry for greater productivity.”

He added that the appointment of Prof. Nicholas Namessan, a professor of agriculture engineering to head the ministry, would make a huge difference in the performance of the sector.

Musa said that the participation of Taraba in the VCD programme was another key step towards enhancing food security in the state.

“Other states implementing the programme are Enugu, Nasarrawa, Niger, Ebonyi, Benue, Anambra, and Kogi.

“The training was particularly important because accurate data on crop yield is very important for future planning to increase productivity,” he said.

Alhaji Lawal Tafida, the IFAD-VCDP Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Adviser, urged participants to share knowledge and experience on the CAYS.

This, he said, could be achieved through field visits and social media platforms to strengthen performance in intervening states.

One of the resource persons, Prof. Bashir Sani, urged the participants to observe and document best agronomic practices by farmers in their respective states for better yields.

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