FOOD SECURITY: FG, KWSG TRAINS, 50 FARMERS ON…………
By: Safiya Abdulrahim Dabban
Fifty ( 50) farmers and extension agents have been trained and empowered by the federal governments on resilient practice in cassava production to ensure food sufficiency in the country.
Speaking at the training session,in Ilorin, the Kwara state Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Aliyu Kabir said the training was organised for farmers in the North West ,North East and North Central zones.
According to him, the workshop is one of the series of training lined up for the year, adding that the Ministry had earlier this year organized trainings on soya bean and yam production.
Dr. Kabir explained that the current hardship in the country necessitated the need to empower the youths, in order to improve the output of the existing farmers and encourage more people to embrace farming as a business.
He noted that the empowerment would be in kind and partly cash for the beneficiaries .
In his remarks, the Director of Agriculture Services, Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Alhassan Mohammed urged the participants not to sell the items given to them by government.
In his contribution, the State Chairman, Nigerian Cassava Growers Association, Engr. Gabriel Fasanu appealed to government at all levels to clear more land for farming activities and ensure proper funding of the sector.
In her welcome address, the Managing Director, Kwara ADP, Dr. Khadijat Ahmed said the participants were carefully selected to ensure that only the real farmers benefitted from the empowerment scheme.