Nasarawa State governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Sule, has promised to engage more agricultural extension agents in the ongoing effort to boost food production in the state.
The governor made the pledge during a two-day workshop for National Agricultural Extension Development Committee, in Lafia, the state capital on Tuesday.
The governor, who decried the dearth of extension workers despite the critical role they play in providing support services to farmers across the country, called on the federal and state governments to accord priority attention to them if the country must achieve self-sufficiency and diversification drive through agriculture.
He said his administration is also committed to the training and retraining of the available agricultural extension agents for effective and efficient service delivery.
“Government is not unaware of the neglect the agricultural extension agents suffered over time as a result of dependency on oil as the major source of revenue to the nation’s economy. In this regard, various policies have been put in place to resuscitate and strengthen the ADPs as a parastatal responsible for transforming the policies of government into reality in order to drive the diversification of the economy.
“It is important to state that the significant role played by the ADPs in the implementation of agricultural policies and programmes through extension agents is critical to the development of agricultural sector.
“To achieve food security and sufficiency, priority attention must be accorded in the selection of agricultural extension agents to man the affairs by disseminating vital information to farmers on both technological advancement and other challenges that could constitute threat to farming activities.
He said the ADP is a World Bank project designed to reduce rural poverty and improve agricultural production through community-based approach, noting that this explains why government at all levels has continued to champion the project as a way of sustaining what was hitherto put in place by the donor agencies in view of its importance and associated benefits to socio-economic development.
“Today, the ADPs are faced with the issue of under-staffing which has negated the programme in meeting the World Bank’s standard of agricultural practices.”
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