The Executive Secretary of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Professor Garba Sharubutu has said that the Council is currently reactivating existing Outreach centres and adopted schools to ensure farmers in rural areas are reached.
Professor Sharubutu also said that the improvement of extension services across the country is ongoing with the aim of taking new technologies down to farmers in rural communities.
Speaking with Tribune Online, the ARCN boss said extension teaching materials have been distributed to some adopted villages and adopted schools through various research institutes and colleges to enhance extension activities.
“In order to improve extension work, the Minister has instructed us to have outreach centres, continue with the adopted village programs, adopted school programs, and in this situation, our research centres and colleges can get to a rural community where farming activities takes place.
“We are also encouraging our institutions to establish centres in the rural areas and schools for the community. These centres will each have a classroom, store to keep our materials, meeting hall, then we will also provide the extension teaching materials within that environment.
“Apart from that, we are also expected to have a place we keep our demonstration livestock or we have a small demonstration crop farm so that as we are teaching them, they are seeing it practically,” he said.
“When you get to farmers, there is what we call extension teaching methods, and there are various ways in which you can reach a farmer in order to sell an idea to him; motion pictures, palm flex, still pictures, the language of communication, community meetings, and there are situations where you need to use a combination of these methods, and the quickest one we have found to have a serious impact is while having community meetings, you also need to use pictures both motion and the rest, so we have to provide these facilities.
“In addressing about 100 farmers, if you don’t have a public address system, while you are talking, other persons will be distracted because they are not hearing what you are saying, and so your extension teaching method will not be effective.
“So you need a public address system and vehicles to move from one village to another to hold meetings, you also need video materials to demonstrate how to undertake good farming practice. All these are provided for in the Act establishing ARCN,” Professor Sharubutu added.
He said in reactivating the adopted schools and adopted villages, the ARCN distributed extension teaching materials to 12 colleges and Research Institutes out of the 26 they have.
“We are reactivating existing adopted villages and adopted schools. For adopted schools, we want to catch them young, based on that, we have sent out a lot of extension teaching materials through our various research institutes and colleges.
“Last year we were able to distribute to about 12 colleges and research institutes out of the 26, this year, the Minister has approved again, by so doing, we will be assisting the various state governments in achieving adequate extension coverage.”
Professor Sharubutu further said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is proposing entrepreneurship centres for graduates and retirees interested in venturing into agriculture.
He said the entrepreneurship Centre would house the trainees for three months after which they have planted some early maturing crops and learn the procedure for weeding, fertilizer application and other farming activities.
“The Ministry through the ARCN is proposing entrepreneurship centres for graduates of agriculture as well as intending retirees who want to go into agriculture. These entrepreneurship centres will be equipped with facilities for practical teaching, our target there is to try and see how these centres can accommodate trainees for a period of about three months.
“Now, why three months? The three months is estimated to cover a production period, for example, in a Centre, you’re supposed to have something like a greenhouse, you can grow cucumber there, tomato, green beans, carrot, onion, and these are all quick maturing crops.
“So if you bring somebody from day one to start training, you will start preparing the beds, from there, you will do the seeding or planting the seedlings, then you will know when to apply fertilizer, you know when to water, you will know when to weed, you will know when to harvest within that three months.
“So if somebody goes through that period, you will be able to be knowledgeable enough to avoid simple mistakes that cause loss of production, because people learn through experience, farming is something that you cannot just carry textbook and come out.”
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