Nigerian Government Trains 50 Workers to Enhance Crop Production
To achieve a laudable agricultural extension system in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has flagged off agricultural training on extension tools, methodologies and selected agricultural value chain for 50 agric extension workers.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the three-day training programme in Enugu State, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, said the training was one of the ministry’s agenda to address the agricultural extension system in Nigeria.
Represented by a regional director in the ministry, Mr Peter Nworga, explained that the training activities were expected to revitalize the country’s economy.
According to Nworga, agricultural extension remains the driver of all agricultural policies and research, adding that without extension services, all efforts in the agricultural ecosystem may not realize their intended goals of matching global practices.
Meanwhile, he noted that this was the third edition of the programme, which was designed to provide extension workers with the needed knowledge to improve service delivery to farmers, both in terms of production methods and technical equipment assistance.
“It is a great pleasure for me to address you today on this auspicious occasion of the opening ceremony of the training of Agricultural Extension Agents across the 36 states and the FCT holding in the 37 states agricultural development projects in Nigeria. It is the desire of the President, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and every Nigerian to see that our agricultural extension delivery system meets global competition. This will also ensure we have adequate food for our population and some to augment our foreign earnings,” he said.
On his part, Mr. Mathew Idu, the Enugu State Commissioner for Agriculture, commended the Federal Government for providing the platform to train agricultural extension workers consistently in the state. He made it known that farmers would not be able to practice effective agriculture without extension workers, as they do everything possible to enhance crop production.
Earlier, the Project Manager of the Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme, (ENADEP), Dr Ogbonna Onyeisi commended the Federal Government for their efforts in the increment of crop production.
Onyeisi however, assured participants of the State Government’s commitment to increase agricultural production, adding that ENADEP had set programmes to visit every local government area in the state to discover the challenges faced and proffer solutions.
“I call farmers my family, being the people that produce what we eat and with the help of an android phone, we can reach every farmer and solve their problem by helping them to grow their crops without any hitches. Those challenges will be no more because ENADEP is ready to take the bull by the horn. We are with the farmers and we believe that our Governor will recruit more Agric extension workers. We want agriculture to be the base of revenue for Enugu State”.
Agro Nigeria
