May 15, (THEWILL) – Ogun State Government says it will be training over 20,000 farmers in modern farming technique through extension officers across the 20 Local Government Area of the State to boost food security and job creation in Agric value-chain
Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina, who stated this at a Capacity Building Programme for the extension officers in Abeokuta, said that the training was part of the Ogun Cares FADAMA RA 2 project to cushion the effect of COVID-19 on poor and vulnerable farmers in the state
The project is an intervention of the State Government in collaboration with Federal Government and the World Bank, aimed at restoring the livelihood of the poor and the vulnerable farmers to maintain food security by giving grants to them and those in agricultural value chain
Odedina, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Dotun Sorunke, said that the programme for the extension officers became imperative to train and assist the over 20,000 farmers to restore their livelihood and produce food for the populace
The commissioner stated that with the establishment of the programme the future is bright for the state in agriculture especially in the area of food sufficiency and job creation in agric value-chain which would aid industrialization in the state
“We put up this capacity building programme because we want you all to be transformed and we don’t want you to miss the road, so you don’t mislead the farmers. You can only give what you know because if you learn good things, you will produce good things. Your work will also involve gathering of information and data capturing, so you need to be attentive and make use of every knowledge gained”, he added.
Earlier, the Project Manager, Mrs Solape Awe harped on the importance of training to farmers through the extension officers, charging them to be well trained and up-to-date in best agricultural practices so as to inculcate the same to the farmers.
She urged them to keep abreast of climate smart agriculture, timely delivery and good agronomic practices as well as quality agro-input, admonishing them to show preference to small holder farmers, women, youths and people living with disabilities.
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