Administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has organised a five-day intensive training for over 80 indigenous agric extension workers in modern farming techniques under the African Union Development Agency (AUDA)/New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) small holder farmers project.
The training, according to the Coordinator of AUDA/NEPAD, Enugue, Mabel Agbo, will usher in the actual implementation of the small holder farmer project in the state.
Agbo added that the programme will expose the participating farmers to international best practices in agricultural techniques for optimal results.
“The farmers involved in the AUDA/NEPAD project actually need to be positioned to get the best out of the programme for them to acquire the requisite economic capacity to cushion the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
Flagging off the training in Enugu, tagged: “Train the Trainers Workshop,” the AUDA/NEPAD state coordinator enjoined the participants to show dedication and pay adequate attention, adding that the success of the AUDA/NEPAD farming project rests with them as “we are relying on you to impart religiously the knowledge you receive here to the two thousand farmers who will be participating in the AUDA/NEPAD project.”
Commending Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration for financing the training, the AUDA/NEPAD state coordinator said: “These 2,000 benefitting farmers are expected to engage in the following value chain: poultry, piggery, fishery, cassava, rice, maize, Nsukka pepper production, snail production, palm kernel and oil processing.”
Ugwuanyi’s administration recently trained over 260 young farmers on modern techniques in agriculture at CSS Global Farms, Keffi, Nasarawa State, to enable them rebrand and enhance their skills in the agricultural value chain.
Speaking further, Agbo pointed out that Ugwuanyi’s administration is passionate about the wellbeing of the masses and the need to ameliorate their sufferings due to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s economy.