FAO trains 51 extension service officers to boost agric in Northeast

The Representative of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Nigeria, Suffyan Koroma, has said that the graduation of 51 agricultural trainees was to support conflict affected farmers to boost productivity via extension services in Northeast.
 
The trainees are to run FAO’s 100 Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) to support most at-risk farming households in the Northeast.Koroma disclosed this on Thursday, in a statement made available by FAO Maiduguri Sub-office Communication and Reporting Officer, Patrina Pink. He said the training of 26 additional persons across the Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states was to boost agricultural extension services.
 
He said the training of an initial batch of 25 agricultural officers from government agricultural agencies and non-governmental organizations, with establishment of FFS community groups, FAO graduated a second batch of 26 agricultural experts on August 18, 2018 in Maiduguri.
 
“The three week long intensive workshop equipped experts supporting conflict-affected farmers in the Northeast with the skills to set up and run at least two farmer field schools per facilitator,” Koroma said, adding that the UN agency had trained 51 experts in the FFS approach.He said the FAO’s ongoing rainy season programme delivered seeds and fertilizer to about 100,000 households as of July, adding that crops and livestock production is expected to rise with increased access to farmlands in the newly accessible areas in the region.
 
He said access to land remains a key issue as several communities are restricted to only small parcels of land for production, and cannot use traditional growing and grazing areas due to lingering security risks.