The Ondo State government, in partnership with the World Bank and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, is set to train and empower over 34,000 livestock farmers across the state to enhance livestock productivity.

According to the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), the initiative will focus on piggery farming, poultry, sheep, and goat farming.

According to the State Programme Coordinator of Ondo L-PRES, Mr Olufemi Adeogun, who disclosed this during a media interactive session with newsmen, beneficiaries were equipped with modern techniques and tools to boost commercial output.

While emphasising that L-PRES is a six-year World Bank-funded intervention implemented through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Adeogun maintained that the project aimed to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to respond to agricultural crises.

He said, “The overall purpose is to ensure smooth implementation of the project in the state, in accordance with the Project Development Objective (PDO) and operational guidelines, as contained in the Project Appraisal Document (PAD) and Project Implementation Manual (PIM).

“Ondo is one of the 20 states of the federation that is benefiting from the project. The implementation of the project in the country has three value chains.

“The 34,000 targeted beneficiaries include poultry, pig, sheep, and goat farmers, as well as processors and marketers across the state. These individuals have been grouped into clusters and sub-clusters to benefit from the intervention.”

Adeogun maintained that the project had sensitised the targeted beneficiaries across the state between September 2023 and early 2024 and had trained several extension agents and service providers.

The trainings focused on areas such as health, disease control, and artificial insemination (AI), with sessions already held in selected locations and planned to be replicated in Akure and Ikare.

On her part, the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Mrs. Foluke Daramola, noted that the government is undertaking these efforts to make farmers more productive, improve their livelihoods, reduce production costs in areas such as egg and beef production, and ultimately benefit both consumers and farmers.

Daramola, who listed several other government interventions, including the reconstruction of veterinary hospitals across the state, explained that the government aims to make food affordable and accessible to the populace.

On his part, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Leke Adegbite, expressed concern over the rising cost of poultry-related products, especially eggs, and appealed to the leadership of L-PRES to find a solution to the alarming increase in egg prices and other livestock costs.