Agriculture
THE United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says it has upscaled the productivity of smallholder farmers in Nigeria through the extension service delivery system.
Dr Benjamin Odoemena, Chief of Party, USAID, stated this at a media engagement on Monday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the media engagement was a pre-event parley organised ahead of the National Impact Workshop on Innovative Marlet-led extension services delivery slated to hold on Oct. 23 in Abuja.
The workshop is a collaborative effort of USAID Feed the Future Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Activity in Nigeria.
Odoemena said that the progamme is a USAID funded five-year collaborative development initiative with Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to facilitate learning, replication, and scale around alternate models of extension.
“(The programme is) also to increase access and adoption of improved agricultural technologies and practices for two million smallholder producers in Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi, and Niger states.
Odoemena affirmed that the provision of extension services which started in 2020 has provided access to agro-inputs and services and disseminated extension messaging to the smallholder farmers rapidly, effectively, and sustainably through partnership with MSMEs and big agricultural firms, among others.
“The extension activity identified and promoted 39 most impactful practices (MIPs).
“The MIPs are improved technologies that yield the highest value to the MSMEs and smallholder farmers in their agricultural practices.
“The collaboration with different actors led to huge successes, including some transformations in the extension system in Nigeria.
“Also increased productivity and income of the smallholder farmers and job creation for women and youth within and outside the seven focal states,” he said.
Odoemena said that for smallholder farmers to come out of poverty, they should use good agricultural practices.
He urged the private sector to delve into agricultural extension services to boost productivity.
In a remark, Dr Deola Lordbanjour, the Director Extension Services, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, said the ministry would continue to partner with USAID to enhance extension service delivery in Nigeria.
Lordbanjou, who was represented by Mr Ayodele Olawumi in the ministry, said a new dawn had come in the extension service system in the country.
Earlier in a remark, Jean – Pierre Rousseau, Director, Winrock International, USAID, underscored the importance of extension service to farmers as well as the private sector.
He said the extension advisory services activity project is targeting maize, rice, soy, cowpea and acquaculture value chains to empower farmers. (NAN)
A.I
Oct. 21, 2024
Tags: Dr Benjamin Odoemena Mr Ayodele Olawumi USAID
