The Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Natural Resources and Research Center (ISANRRC) has organized a two-day training for farmers in Osun State on the modern day cultivation of maize, cassava, yam, and sweet potato.
The program held at Fakunle Grammar School, Osogbo, in collaboration with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and other Agroallied associations, aims at empowering farmers through capacity building, to address issues affecting food security and sufficiency.
In his address, ISANRRC President Professor S.U. Yahaya, affirmed that the training focuses on technical skills to enhance production and optimal yield, noting that climate change has unleashed unpredictable weather patterns, destroying farmers’ hard work and imperiling food availability in the country.
Professor Yahaya reiterated that Nigeria has vast potential for agricultural production to produce food for itself and the entire West Africa Sub-region, stating that the selected crops have high demand in the export market and their extensive value chains offer opportunities for producers, processors, marketers, and consumers.
He urged stakeholders to address critical gaps in accessing affordable farm implements, high-quality inputs, and flexible financing options; while encouraging participants to leverage on facilitators’ expertise, translating knowledge into self-reliance, employment provision, and wealth creation.
Also speaking, a member of the governing Board of the ISANRRC, Dr Ruth Onsanya, expressed optimism that at the end of the training across the Southwestern states, the story in the agricultural sector of the region would have changed for better.
The Director General of ISANRRC, Dr John Daniel Enemona , told newsmen that the training is aimed at equiping farmers in the Southwest with modern agricultural technic, most especially in the face of Climate change.
ISANRRC Zonal Director for the Southwest, Dr. Olusegun Abioye, said the training will prepare farmers for next year’s farming season, stressing that common food for the common man is expensive due to losses and inadequate farm output.
Dr. Abioye emphasized that the training will expose partisan farmers and youth who love to venture into farming to advanced processes and procedures in growing crops, to avoid loss and maximize productivity. He added that the institute will intensify efforts in its orientation to ensure youths are proud to be farmers.
Some of the participants, including Mrs Mojisola Salman Coordinator Southwest Agro Women, Mrs Omolara Adebayo and Mr Oluwatosin Oluwajobi, expressed their delight that such a training was organized now that Nigeria needs aggressive farming to ensure food security and increase its GDP; just as they pledged to put into use all the knowledge acquired at the two-day trainings.
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