KWADP Trains 80 Farmers on Modern Method of Yam Production

No fewer than 80 farmers across the 16 Local Government Areas of Kwara State, North Central Nigeria have been trained by the  State Agricultural Development Project Office (KWADP), on Climatic Resilient Practices in Yam Production and Processing.

The farmers were trained at a workshop organized by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), through the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension Services  in collaboration with the Kwara State Government, held at the KWADP Hall in Ilorin.

Declaring the workshop open,  the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Gidado AbdulLateef Alakawa said the present administration, under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has invested heavily in all sectors of agriculture in the state.

He noted that, “The training would also add to the government efforts in expanding the capacity building of the farmers in modern methods of agricultural practices.”

Mallam Alakawa explained further that farming has gone beyond production of food for consumption alone, and enjoined farmers on value addition for a better profit in their farming business.

He urged the participants in attendance to take the advantage of the training to further enhance and increase not only their food production but also the value addition aspect of the workshop.

In her remarks, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Adejoke Raheem  disclosed that the workshop was organized to train farmers on modern agricultural practices, that could withstand the challenges of irregular rainfall due to climate change which affects production, storage and processing stages of the value chain.

According to her, the training is for both Women and Youths in agriculture to forestall the reoccurrence of last year flood disaster that destroyed means of livelihood of farmers across the Country.

“One of the cardinal responsibilities of the extension department of the Ministry is to ensure the success of our indigenous farmers in their farming business, and Kwara was chosen for yam production and processing training due to the state advantage in yam, while the training is simultaneously ongoing in other states of the federation,” Mrs. Raheem said.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Managing Director, Kwara ADP, Dr. (Mrs.) Khadijat Ahmed had commended both the Federal and State Governments for providing enabling environment for farmers in the State, and assured  that the agency would not relent in discharging its responsibilities towards achieving food sufficiency in the country.

Dr. Ahmed further urged the participants to ensure that the knowledge gained at the workshop is spread to other farmers that were not at the training.

Highlights of the training programme was the presentation of a paper and distribution of manual guide on yam production and processing to the participants.