By Samuel
ActionAid, SWOFON Task FG on Extension Policy, Farmer Education
ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) and the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) have called for a total revitalisation of agricultural extension services in Nigeria.
Extension services include the work of providing expert guidance to farmers on best procedures to improve their lands, to employ modern agricultural practices, among others.
Country Director of AAN, Ene Obi made the call during a webinar where stakeholders discussed issues bedevilling small-scale women farmers in the country.
In his reaction, the Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture and Extension Service at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Engineer Frank Kudla, noted that a committee has been constituted for the sole purpose of agric extension services revitalisation.
Kudla explained that the ministry plans to train 75,000 extension workers, adding that it has drawn out modules for the training.
Read the full story here: https://agronigeria.ng/2020/07/06/actionaid-swofon-task-fg-on-extension-policy-farmer-education/
FG Launches BASICS II to Strengthen Seed System
The Federal Government last Thursday launched the second phase of the Building an Economically Sustainable and Integrated Cassava Seed Systems (BASICS II).
The National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) initiated the second phase as a follow-up to BASICS I (2015-2019) to ensure continued circulation of quality seeds to Nigerian farmers.
While delivering his virtual keynote address at the launch, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Sabo Nanono, noted that the new phase would build on the achievement of the previous.
Read the full story here: https://agronigeria.ng/2020/07/06/fg-launches-basics-ii-to-strengthen-seed-system/
BASICS II: AfDB, PIND, AGRA Throw Weight Behind Scheme
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged support for the second phase of the Building an Economically Sustainable and Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS-II).
AgroNigeria reported that BASICS II was launched last Thursday by the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) and the project’s leading partner, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (ITTA).
According to the project partners, the new phase is a follow-up to BASICS I (2015-2019) and is aimed at ensuring the continued circulation of quality seeds to Nigerian farmers.
Read the full story here: https://agronigeria.ng/2020/07/07/basics-ii-afdb-pind-agra-throw-weight-behind-scheme/
Nigeria Lacks Accurate Database of Extension Workers, Farmers – FMARD Director
An official of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Engineer Frank Kudla, has disclosed that Nigeria does not have an accurate database on the population of extension workers and farmers in the country.
Kudla, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Extension Service at FMARD, made the observation over the weekend while speaking at a webinar organised by ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) and Small Scale Women Farmers Association of Nigeria (SWOFON).
AgroNigeria had reported that AAN and SWOFON during the webinar called on the Federal Government for a total overhaul of the agricultural extension services sub-sector.
Also decrying the state of the sector, Kudla, who pointed out that one extension agent in Nigeria serves 5,000 farmers, described the situation as abnormal.
Read the full story here: https://agronigeria.ng/2020/07/07/nigeria-lacks-accurate-database-of-extension-workers-farmers-fmard-director/
COVID-19: FMARD to Test Five Million Farmers as FG Launches Testkit
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has disclosed that it plans to test five million farmers in the country for the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Sabo Nanono, revealed this on Thursday during a press briefing organised by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
Nanono made the disclosure after the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Christopher Ogbonnaya Onu, launched an indigenous test kit, RNASwift, developed to diagnose COVID-19.
RNASwift was developed by Nigerian scientist, Dr Alison Nwokeoji, an academic researcher with the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.