FG-NIHORT trains 200 women, youths on plantain, pumpkin farming

IN line with the Federal Government’s resolve to diversify the economy, particularly through agriculture, the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) has embarked on the training of no fewer than 200 youths and women on modern farming technologies and Agrochemical Sprayers in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.

The two-day empowerment training programme, with participants drawn from different communities, including Agbede town in Etsako West, were trained on the use of modern technologies in the production of plantain and Telfairia (pumpkin) production in Agbede town, a predominantly agrarian community in Edo.

It was gathered that the training is expected to help the beneficiaries as they applauded the Federal Government for the exercise to incorporate recent scientific advances and technologies into the production of plantain and pumpkin farming.

Welcoming the participants to the training programme, the Executive Director of NIHORT, Dr Attanda Mohammed Lawal, said the training is expected to enhance Federal Government’s efforts and focus on agriculture as strong driver of diversifying the country’s economy.

He assured that the training will promote food security, employment opportunities, wealth creation, household income and wealth, adding that plantain serves as an industrial raw material for the food and beverage industry for making baby foods, biscuits, bread and cakes.

Dr Lawal, who was represented at the event by Mr Fagbangbe Stephen Olugbenga, acting Head, Human Resources, NIHORT, disclosed that while plantain is a low-capital agribusiness, lucrative and suitable for most Nigerian soil, Telfairia (pumpkin) is an important leaf and seed vegetable with economic importance and has high demand in the country.

He said: “Nigeria has a comparative advantage in plantain production and is one of the major producers of plantain in the world. The country ranked fifth in plantain production in the world and a production figure of 3,077,159 tonnes was obtained in 2020 (FAO Statistics). The commodity is commercially viable and a money-spnner for those who understands the value- chain

“Telfairia on the other hand is an important leaf and seed vegetable of great economic importance; it is in high demand and widely consumed in Nigeria. The leaf is of high nutritional, medicinal, and industrial value, rich in protein, fat minerals  and vitamins. There is a high prospect in the production of Telfairia and marketing within and outside Nigeria.”

“To maximise the potential of the commodities, capacity building/training is crucial among other efforts to scale up the cultivation of the commodities in Nigeria. Capacity building and stakeholder engagement are targeted at exposing the stakeholders to recent innovations in the cultivation of the commodities”, he noted

The NIHORT Executive Director, maintained that the institute is saddled with the responsibility to conduct research into genetic improvement production technologies, processing and marketing of fruits, vegetables, spices, and ornamental plants of nutriental and economic importance.

While maintaining that the institute has competencies and cognate experience in capacity development and has built the capacity of stakeholders in arrays of horticultural crops like mango, plantain Banana Mango, Tomato, pepper, Irvingia and mushrooms across the country said NIHORT has built the capacity of more than 4,500 stakeholders in the horticultural value chain in Nigeria from 2018 to date.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune during the first day of the training, Dr. Joel Akindele Akinfasoye, and Abubakare Momodu, representative of the facilitator in their separate remarks said that the 200 participants are being trained on how to cultivate plantain, and ugu (pumpkin), make money from it,  do value addition on it as well as how to grow ugu (pumkin ) right from the nursery to harvest.

Dr. Semeton Akindorun Amosun, however, enlightened the trainees on the use of modern farming technology for Plantain/banana and the agro chemical sprayers, how they are used, the precautionary measures, types of agrochemicals and they can use them to optimize production at different levels.

The participants in their separate responses commended the federal government for the capacity building training, adding that it has further broading their knowledges about plantain and ugu farming

According to Chief Umoru Momodu, the Daudu of Iyezama community, Agbede and Chief Musa Abdulrazak, the Daudu of Iniokho community, we are so excited to be trained by the federal government on plantain and ugu farming. We are excited about the training and the impact it will have in our lives.

“The training is very important to us as farmers and exciting because it is moving our communities away from the popular rice, yam and cassava farming we are known for to horticultural farming like ugu and plantain farming which is even more beneficial to the Communities

“It will really help our community farmers a lot to reduce the stress they are going through.We are predominantly farmers here in Agbede and the production of Ugu and plantain will reduce our stress as farmers. At the end of the training, the impact will be very important and we will carry the same message to our people at home.

On her part, Comrade Grace Obakina,  Executive Director, Caring heart initiative, said: “I love this initiative and I am sincerely appreciative to the Federal Government because at a time like we need businesses and sources of income that need little source of income to start.

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