Jutha Gupah, Damaturu
August 27, 2017.
The Yobe State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) in
collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the
United Nations and International Crops Research Institute for
Semi-Arid Crops (ICRISAT); is to train farmers on modern farming
techniques under semi-arid weather and soil conditions.
The 40 participating farmers are drawn from four council areas of
Nangere, Damaturu, Fune and Potiskum, which dissect the state into two
halves.
The Progarmme Manager of ADP, Musapha Goggobe disclosed this at the
weekend, while addressing farmers and agricultural extension workers
at the State’s Secretariat complex, Damaturu.
He said the farmers’ workshop was conceived by the ADP extension
workers to try the new high yield seeds or crops on semi-arid soil in
targeted council areas of the state.
He said that the newly developed seeds for sorghum, cowpea, groundnut
and millet, can be harvested after 65 days of plantings.
“We have crops that have newly been developed which would be tried on
our soil considering the short period of rainy season in the region.
We have targeted 6,000 beneficiaries from the four local governments
of Damaturu, Fune, Potiskum and Nangere,” said Goggobe.
The representative of ICRISAT, Dr. Ijantiku Ignatius Angarawal, in his
brief remarks said the objectives of the workshop are to evaluate,
revive and teach the farmers on modern techniques of farming through
innovations.
According to him, 80 per cent of the labour force in the state; is
farmers. He added that five communities each from the four council
areas have been targeted for modern techniques of farming.
He further disclosed that the Yobe ADP in collaboration with the FAO
had distributed bags of seeds for cowpea, sorghum, and millet,
including 25kg of fertilizer and assorted vegetable seeds to 33,000
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) farmers.
