The Kogi state government has provided farmers in the state with 20,000 cashew seedling and 45,000 oil palm seedlings for the 2018 farming season at a subsidised rate.
Jerry Onugbu, director of Agricultural Service disclosed this recently during the Agriculture Core Delivery Team (CDT) meeting under the aegis of the State Partnership of Agriculture facilitated by Synergos Nigeria in the state.
He said the ministry delved into raising the seedling to give incentives to farmers in the state to scale up their production in cash crop production.
Kunle Agbunu , state director of Produce and Pest Control , also revealed that the state government has address the issue of illegal tariff and double taxation on farm produce, to tackle some of the challenges confronting farmers in the state.
He urged stakeholders in the sector to take advantage in cashew and oil palm production, saying that farmers can take advantage of the government export initiative to export their products to make more money.
Agbunu equally harped on the need to export palm kernel to boost the country’s export earnings and contribute to Nigeria’s economic development and growth through the agricultural sector.
Lydia Oyewole, PPP in the state FADAMA project, in her contribution, said that boosting oil palm production in the state will also help fish and livestock farmers easily get feeds for their livestock, noting that oil palm marsh contains high nutritional component vital for fish and livestock development.
Also speaking Recheal Tolula, director, Home Economic in the Ministry of Agriculture, stressed the need for farmers and exporters to work in together with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for standardisation of agric products.
