Nigeria to deploy agricultural technologies to ECOWAS countries ― WAATP

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6 years ago

The National Program Coordinator of West African Agricultural Transformation Program (WAATP), Dr James Apochi has said that Nigeria would commence the deployment of technologies developed locally countries in West Africa.

Dr Apochi disclosed this at a workshop organized by the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) and West and Central Africa Council for Agriculture Research and Development (CORAF) to chart way forward on improving farm inputs for farmers to enhance increased productivity.

WAATP is the second phase of the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) which is a technology-based program targeted at assisting farmers with technologies to improve productivity.

Dr Apochi said the program which is at the second phase was going to upscale the climate change smart technologies they had developed in the past.

He further said some of the technologies developed in Nigeria would be deployed to other West African countries, while Nigeria is expected to receive technologies developed in other West African countries.

“We are at the preparatory stage of the second phase of West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) which is going to be West African Transformation Program (WAAPT) and what we are going to do in the new phase of the project, we are going to upscale and outscale the climate smart technologies that we have generated.

“This is regional program of the ECOWAS and in the spirit, if regional integration, the technology we are developing in Nigeria will also be given to other West African Countries and they send technologies to us. Take for example the issue of dry mango is Avery good technology that we took from Burkina Faso, we sent people from here to Burkina Faso to understudy the processing of dry mango and when they came back we gave them driers and as am talking to you now we have one of our stakeholder who is exporting dry mango from Nigeria”, Dr Apochi said.

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The Director-General of NASC, Dr Philip Ojo while speaking with journalists, said the availability of quality inputs is fundamental, and that was why stakeholders convened to look at how they could partner to bridge the gap between farmers and quality inputs.

“Making quality inputs available to farmers is very fundamental and this one of the reasons why stakeholders came together look at the challenges and look at how we can partner together to make quality inputs, not only seeds, fingerlings even inputs of fertilizers, particularly agrochemicals and inputs necessary for livestock available to farmers.

“Stakeholders from Benin, Burkina Faso and Nigeria are here to see how we work, challenge it and see how we can move the Agric sector forward and also see how we can partner”, Dr Ojo said.