OYSADA holds 2-day orientation training of desk officers and facilitators for Oyo-CARES Programme in Saki

The Oyo State Government, through the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), has recently completed the training of 66 officers who will facilitate the World Bank-assisted Oyo State COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (Oyo-CARES) programme. The Two-Day Orientation Training of Desk Officers and Facilitators, Result Area 2, was held at the OYSADA headquarters at Saki, while the trainees were drawn from all the 33 Local Government Areas in the state.

In his opening remarks, the Director-General of OYSADA, Dr Debo Akande, charged the participants to adopt the use of technology as a driving force for the project. He said the trainees would be used to drive the project; therefore, they must be ready to provide the much-needed support to help the smallholder farmers recover from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Akande also said that as part of the larger policy of OYSADA which includes knowledge transfer, 20 of the recent Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP) beneficiaries, will now have an opportunity to transfer some of the knowledge they acquired through their training at Nasarawa State to rural farmers in Oyo State. In his words, “Few of you, I’m aware, completed training at Nasarawa State under the Youth Entrepreneurship in
Agribusiness Project (YEAP) initiative… there must be new approaches to deliver things for the development of our dear state, and we are counting on you people to provide all these platforms and knowledge on farm approaches.”

In his welcome address, the Result Area 2 Project Coordinator in Oyo State, Mr Abimbola Bamgbola, said the training afforded facilitators and desk officers the opportunity to get acquainted with the implementation procedures and guidelines for carrying out the project. He praised the Oyo State Government for kickstarting this programme in the state to provide the needed help to smallholder farmers.

Practical technical sessions handled by certified trainers provided further insights into project implementation protocols and prepared participants to carry out their responsibilities to the farmers in their various communities. At the end of the sessions, the participants expressed joy at the training they had received as they were ready to go out and play their part in the recovery process of farmers in Oyo State.

Through the Oyo-CARES programme, Oyo State farmers will receive support in the form of agricultural inputs such as seeds, herbicides and fertilizers; agricultural extension services; and infrastructural development through the construction of rural roads. They will also receive assets such as water pumps and sprayers to enable them to carry out farm operations.