From Olanrewaju Lawal, Burnin Kebbi
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has commenced training of 50 Agric Extension Workers in order to enhance production practices and equipment for technical support to farmers in Kebbi.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,Dr Muhammad Abubakar stated this while declaring open
the three-day training in Birnin Kebbi explained that the training was one of the ministry’s plans to halt the drift in the agricultural extension system.
Abubakar,who was represented by the Kebbi State Coordinator of the Ministry,Alhaji Shehu Abdullahi said: “the training also aimed at pursuing the revitalization agenda of the Nigerian economy by the Federal Government.
“The training is one of series of batches that will empower you with knowledge that will enhance service delivery to farmers both in terms of production practices and equipment for technical support,” he said.
Abubakar said that the desired of the government was to see that the extension delivery system met global competitiveness in oder to ensure adequate food security and foreign earnings.
“It is a great pleasure for me to address you today at 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 Nigerian President, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and every Nigerian to see that our agricultural extension delivery system meets global competitiveness.
“This will also ensure we have adequate food for our population and some to augment our foreign earnings,” he said.
The minister, urged the participants to consider the training very important to enable them deliver with efficiency.
Earlier, the Director of the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension in the ministry, Mr Frank Satumari-Kudla, attributed the decrease in number of extension workers to retirements, deaths and non replacements.
“These are in addition to youth unwillingness to embrace agricultural entrepreneurship, poor capacity of existing extension agents to deliver due to lack of low quality of training and the general poor funding of the sub- sector,” he said.
Satumari-Kudla, represented by Programme Manager of thr ministry, Alhaji Lawal Ahmed, expressed optimism that the beneficiaries would cascade down the training to their farmers with the help of the Agricultural Development Projects.