Kogi rice farmers enjoined to embrace technology
To encourage farmers in adopting technologies in Agriculture, Kogi Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS) in partnership with the National Cereal Research Institute in Badegi, is facilitating the demonstration of improved rice production technologies and practices to rice farmers in the state.
This is in a bid to raise farmer’s awareness and offer them the opportunity to learn first hand about the technologies and innovative practices for adoption and use.
APPEALS project is a 6-year project designed in line with the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) of the Federal Government.
It intends to build on the legacy of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), and plans to support policy trusts on food security, local production, job creation and economic diversification.
The project is targeting 60,000 individuals as direct beneficiaries ie. 10,000 beneficiaries per state, and 300,000 farm household members as indirect beneficiaries.
The participating states and value chains include Cross River (Rice, Cocoa, Poultry), Enugu (Rice, Cashew, Poultry), Kaduna (Maize, Ginger, Dairy) Kano (Rice, Wheat, Tomato), Kogi (Cassava, Cashew, Rice), Lagos (Rice, Aquaculture, Poultry).
The project was approved by the World Bank on March 23, 2017 and became disbursement effective on May 24, 2018. It is expected to close by September 2023.
In Kogi state, demonstration farms where established in the following farming communities of Ozugbe, Shintaku, Ejule Ojebe, Koton- karfe Geregu, Kabawa and Omi. 558 farmers we’re in attendance at the different locations.
The demonstration exercise involved the establishment of Nursery Beds with faro 44, 60 and 67 seedlings. Others are the use of Power Tillers for pulverising the soil, line transplanting methods with intra and inter row spacing of 20cm, and baser application of NPK fertilizer and amongst other best practices.
The project is promoting a System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for
Kogi APPEALS demonstrates improved technologies for rice farmers
