Oyo state government has trained 165 youths and women farmers on cultivation, pest control and processing of improved varieties of three staple crops.
According to the government, the training, which includes planting and processing of Orange -Fleshed Sweet Potato(OFSP), Vitamin A Cassava and Vitamin A maize will enhance quality nutrition and value addition.
Declaring the One-day Training open, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye advised farmers to adopt good agricultural practices in the cultivation of improved varieties of crops.
The training was organized in collaboration with Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition GAIN, held at the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Secretariat Ibadan.
Olaleye said youths and women in the state are being taught on how to plant and process Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato, Vitamin A Cassava and Vitamin A Maize to enhance and enrich nutritional content of food production and food security in Oyo state.
According to him, the training will guarantee more yield per hectare and for value addition.
The commissioner added that this ‘Training the Trainer’ programme is another focused effort of the government to alleviate the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.
He advised farmers in the state to embrace improved varieties of cassava stems as they have enormous benefits and give more yield per hectare.
The Commissioner reaffirmed the efforts of the state government on Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiatives of the state government on distribution of 400kg of maize grains to each poultry farmers in the state where 2665 farmers benefitted; 1000 fish farmers across the state also received fish feeds while 100kg of palm kernel cake (PKC) and 2 bottles of disinfectants would be given to 1000 pig farmers each.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will henceforth carry along the Directors of Agriculture in all the 33 local government areas of the state in every activity organized by the Ministry in order to reach out to the grassroots.
