The Oyo State Government has trained 165 youth and women farmers on cultivation, pest control and processing of improved varieties of three staple crops.
According to the Government, the training, which includes planting and processing of Orange -Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP), Vitamin A Cassava and Vitamin A maize will enhance quality nutrition and value addition.
Olasunkanmi Olaleye, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, while declaring the one-day training open, urged farmers to adopt good agricultural practices in the cultivation of improved varieties of crops.
At the training which was organised in collaboration with Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition GAIN in Ibadan, Olaleye said youths and women in the State were being taught on how to plant and process Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato, Vitamin A Cassava and Vitamin A Maize to enhance and enriched nutritional content of food production and food security in Oyo state.
According to him, the training will guarantee more yield per hectare and for value addition, saying this ‘Training the Trainer’ programme is another focused effort of Government to alleviate the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.
He advised farmers in the State to embrace improved varieties of cassava stems as they have enormous benefits and give more yield per hectare.
The Commissioner reaffirmed the efforts of the State Government on Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiatives of the State Government on distribution of 400kg of maize grains to each poultry farmers in the State where 2665 farmers benefitted; 1000 fish farmers across the State also received fish feeds while 100kg of palm kernel cake (PKC) and 2 bottles of disinfectants would be given to 1000 pig farmers each.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development would thenceforth carry along the Directors of Agriculture in all the 33 Local Government Areas of the State in every activity organised by the Ministry in order to reach out to the grassroots.
Earlier, Christiana Abioye, Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the seminar was another milestone in the history of the Ministry at a time when the whole Country was passing through a hard time due to food scarcity and hunger.
Abioye, who commended Oyo State Government for the support to farmers, observed that cassava production in the Country required good agronomic practices for high yield.
Joyce Akpata, the Head of Policy, Advocacy and Communication, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, commended the Oyo State Government for creating a conducive environment which allows them to operate among other participating states.
She stressed that GAIN had been operating in 4 Local Government Areas in the State but due to prioritization in Agriculture by the present Government under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde, the opportunity has been extended to the 33 Local Government Areas in the State.
Akpata affirmed that by extension, the move would increase the nutrition intake of the citizen through massive production.
Speaking on behalf of the Farmers, Adwwumi Abass, Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Oyo State Chapter, thanked Government for its numerous ongoing efforts to ensure food security in the State adding that with these efforts Oyo State would indeed be a food basket of Nigeria.
Present at the training were the Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture, Ojedokun Peter; Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs and member, Committee on Agriculture, Olufunke Comforter and Folake Samuel, a Professor, among others.
