Audu Ogbeh
Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, says 130, 000 graduate youths have been employed to offer
extension services to farmers across the country.
The minister disclosed this at the 24th Agricultural Extension
Society of Nigeria (AESON) Annual National Conference in Abuja on
Monday.
Ogbeh, who was represented by Mrs Karima Babangida, the Director of
Extension Service Department in the ministry, said that the youths were
engaged under the Social Investment Programme of the Federal
Government.
According to him, extension service needs to be revamped to
strengthen the government’s agricultural development process, especially
in the commodity value chains.
He said that the graduates were trained and would soon be given tablets to effectively deliver on their mandate.
“Extension service has a crucial role to play in reviving the agricultural sector in the country.
“Our country has enormous potential for agricultural development.
“Besides production, support is also given to other value
chains with processing equipment to farmers to add value to their
produce and make more money.
“Farmers’ knowledge and skills need to be improved and enhanced
to improve their commodities across all the value chains to facilitate
improved agricultural productivity in the country.
“This is where extension services are required, in addition to
strengthening the capacity of farmers to boost their productivity,” he said.
The minister, however, noted that the country’s extension system
was not currently in the best of form to effectively deliver on its
mandate.
“This is why the government is working towards bringing extension workers back to assist farmers with best practices,’’ he said.
Ogbeh pledged the ministry’s support wherever it was needed to make
agriculture to take its rightful place in the country to enhance the
competiveness of its agricultural products at the global market.
Prof. Hussaini Ibrahim, the Director-General, Raw Material Research
and Development Council (RMRDC) said that there had been a decline in
the extension service in the country leading to low productivity.
He said that to achieve availability of value added agro-raw
materials for industrial utilisation, effective innovative approaches to
production, processing and marketing that would ensure adequate value
addition must be put in place.
“The knowledge transfer by the agricultural extension workers
in the early 60s contributed to increase in agricultural productivity in
pre and post independent era.
“These led to the development of cocoa dome in southwest, cotton and palm produce in the southeast.
“But the decline in the agricultural productivity in the
country from 2,000 could be linked to the unavailability of extension
services to assist farmers with new innovation to boost productivity.
“Agricultural extension plays a pivotal role in the value chain
development of agro-raw materials from production by farmers and
processing by industries down to marketing and beyond,” he said.
He called on the Federal Government to bring back the glory of the
extension service in the country for effective value chain development
of agricultural commodities.
Prof. Lukman Akinbile, the President, AESON, said that the
association was collaborating with other stakeholders to make extension
practice have a legislated policy in the country.
He added that this would ensure professionalisation of extension
practice which would further address the challenges the sub sector was
currently facing.
He, however, sought the support of the National Assembly to ensure
smooth passage into law when the bills were presented knowing the
importance of the extension service in the country.
The conference with the theme: “Enhancing Agricultural
Extension Capability in Agro-Raw Materials Value Addition, brought
together all practitioners of agricultural extension in Nigeria to
brainstorm on challenges facing the sub-sector.
(NAN)