As part of its strategic approach to revolutionizing agriculture, the Yobe State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources with the support from Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) trained 178 Agricultural Extension Workers selected across the 17 LGA’s in the State.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the two-day workshop in Damaturu, Ali Mustapha Goniri, Commissioner of Agriculture, stated that the training programme which was sponsored by ACReSAL, a World Bank-assisted programme, was part of the recommendations of the State Agric Revitalization Committee.
The Commissioner maintained that extension service delivery is key for the effective dissemination of new agricultural innovation to the doorstep of the peasant farmers by way of information transmission.
According to him, the administration of Governor Mai Mala Buni had invested a lot in the area of agriculture.
“The State Government has invested well over N15 Billion Naira this year to procure inputs and equipment under the Agricultural Revitalization programme in the state. These inputs and equipment were distributed free of charge to selected beneficiaries across the 17 LGAs in the state”, he said.
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He added that all the 178 extension and their supervisors would be supported with a brand new motorcycle to facilitate their easy movement while undertaking their jobs.
Earlier, Musa Abba Kolere, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, charged the newly-engaged extension workers to be good ambassadors of their localities and step down the knowledge to their respective farmers.
Also speaking, Shehu Mohammed, State Project Coordinator ACReSAL in Yobe State, informed the trainees that ACReSAL in partnership with relevant MDA’s would continue to provide capacity building to the agricultural extension workers to fit in with the modern techniques and climate-smart agriculture.
According to the Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, agriculture is more attractive when it brings more profit and produces less harm to the environment.
BusinessDay reports that the resource persons took the participants through different topics including, introduction to extension, extension methodology and approach, general extension service, characteristics, communication, e-extension service delivery, introduction to farmer field school, agri- business, among others.
