The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday commenced capacity building for women and youth farming groups in the North-central zone in a move to promote the processing and packaging of agricultural products.
The training is part of the federal government intervention aimed at creating awareness about improved value addition techniques that promote zero waste across the commodity value chains.
Speaking at the opening of the event in Abuja, director, Federal Department of Agriculture Engr A.G Abubakar said that the ministry was also running a subsidy scheme where it supports farmers with processing and packaging equipment that include hammer mills of different capacities.
Represented by the deputy director, irrigation agriculture and crop development division, Sugra Mahmood, Abubakar added that the purpose of the workshop was to improve the capacity of the processors to process and package in line with food safety standards and improve their output.
He said, “The federal government of Nigeria is committed to supporting the agricultural sector, in order to realise its potential of driving an inclusive economic growth, achieving food and nutritional security and also creating job opportunities for the unemployed population, capacity building in processing and packaging technologies will further strengthen farmers’ capacity to package foods with efficient utilisation of raw material and other resources.
In view of these practical steps taken by the ministry to support processing and packaging for women and youth farmer clusters, I will like to call on all stakeholders to complement government’s effort in supporting farmers with the necessary training and equipment, to cushion the ravaging impacts of the shocks from the pandemic, Russian Ukraine conflict, recent floods and security challenges”.
