The Federal Government plans to establish extension office in each of the 774 Local Government Areas across the country as part of renewed effort to boost food production.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh stated this during an official visit to the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria on Friday.
NAN reports that the minister was in Zaria for an inspection tour of agricultural institutes comprising IAR and National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaisons Services (NAERLS).
Other research institute to be visited by the minister are the National Animal Production and Research Institute (NAPRI) as well as Division of Agricultural Colleges (DAC).
Ogbeh said establishing the extension offices in each LGA was necessary in order to disseminate new researches to farmers, adding that it would enable farmers to get new technologies quickly.
“we want extension workers to teach farmers what to do in their own local language, telling them how to farm by simplifying research findings in their native languages.
“Extension services in Nigeria is almost collapsed with the end of Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), today, we have little or no extension services in states.
“We have no capacity to teach our farmers how to plant even the most elementary crop like maize, hence the need to revitalise the services of extension workers across Nigeria,” he said.
The minister also identified the lack of quality of seeds being used by Nigerian farmers as responsible for poor yields.
On incessant farmers/headmen clashes, Ogbeh said the federal government was doing everything possible to address the situation.
According to him, government is trying to establish colonies for cattle rearing, but it is not meant to seize anybody’s farmlands and give it to Fulanis.
He observed that farmers/herdsmen clashes was not only peculiar to Nigeria, but it was a regional crisis found in Ghana, Ivory Cost and other African countries.
“We want to establish a new culture of grazing to boost animal production and other products because the traditional method is not good enough to give us enough milk or meat.
“Therefore, I want to appeal to you as research institutes to assist the federal government in this direction in order to actualise the dream,” he said.
In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor of ABU, Prof. Ibrahim Garba observed that agriculture was driven by technology and technology was brought through research.
Garba restated the commitment of the university to fully support federal government’s policies and programmes towards achieving economic diversification policy.
In his presentation, the Director, IAR, Prof. Ibrahim Umar-Abubakar said agric complex of ABU had no rival in terms of human and material capacity.
He explained that IAR had so far released a number of different seed varieties including 54 varieties of maize, 48 sorghum, 17 cowpea, 13 cotton and four sunflower varieties, among others. (NAN)
