Youths and women drawn from all the 33 local government areas of Oyo have been trained on all year-round tomato production, modern ways of cassava processing, packaging and yam production.
The three-day training held at the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) zonal office, Apata, Ibadan, was organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Federal Department of Agricultural Extension Services.
While 80 participants were trained on tomato production, 60 got training on modern cassava processing and 50 persons were beneficiaries of tutoring on modern yam production practices.
Resource persons trained the participants on cassava processing, packaging, value addition and utilisation, techniques for all-season tomato production.
Despite tomatoes being referred to as a short-term crop, the training saw the participants lectured on ways to produce tomatoes all year round.
The resource persons described tomato as a high economic value crop that youths should farm to make money, rather than staying idle, and unemployed.
They stressed that with the right knowledge on yam, cassava processing and production, farmers and others on the value chain can increase their profit margin by 75 percent.
The training also saw cassava farmers and extension agents enlightened on ways of processing packaging, not only to increase profit but also to reduce post-harvest losses in production.
Speaking, Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Oyo Office, Dr Kakulu Omonele stressed that the training was to equip participants with necessary information and management practices needed to be an all-season tomato farmer.
This, she noted, will help farmers improve their income and livelihood.
She expressed optimism that if the skill acquired is efficiently utilised, food insecurity will be tackled, while the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will soar.
She charged the beneficiaries (farmers and extension agents) to extend the knowledge garnered to other fellow farmers to boost food production in the country.
Also speaking, director, Agricultural Extension Services Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Oyo State, Mr Rasak Moruf, in his opening remark, commended the federal government on its intervention across the value chain cassava production in Oyo and Nigeria as a whole.
Speaking further, he implored the select participants to optimize the knowledge gained to boost food production in the country.
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