The Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Dotun Sorunke, has charged extension officers in the State to play their role as the engine of agricultural transformation in the State. He gave this charge during the flag-off of the three-day workshop organized by IITA on Zero Hunger Project in collaboration with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funded Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) for Extension Agents at Ogun Tech Hub, Kobape Road, Abeokuta, Ogun State in August.
According to the Commissioner, knowledge of good agricultural practices (GAP) is foundational to good production. He advised the extension agents (EAs) to pay attention to all the training sessions to ensure that they transmit the knowledge to the cassava farmers in the State.
During the Training of Trainers’ event, Zero Hunger Project Lead Debo Akande thanked the State government through the Hon. Commissioner of Agriculture for the partnership and introduced the participants to the three components of the project—Policy assessment, Productivity enhancement, and Capacity development—and encouraged them to see their role in the project as an opportunity to contribute to attaining the global Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger.
The training covered Akilimo and Agronomy content of Fertilizer Recommendation tool, and Scheduled Planting and High Starch Content tool; Importance of the Cassava Seed System; Six Steps to Cassava Weed Management and Best Planting Practices; Safe Use of Herbicides; Digital tools in Cassava production – Herbicide Calculator, Seed Tracker, Cassava Business Connector, Akilimo; Identification and Management of Cassava Pests and Diseases; Business Case for Cassava Seed Production: The IITA GoSeed perspective; Cassava Seed Field certification by the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC); Record Keeping; and Data Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation.
The first day of the workshop, facilitated by the Zero Hunger Project Training Manager Bolanle Olorode, began with a presentation by the Project MEL Manager Oyewale Abioye showcasing the Training Needs Assessment Survey conducted by the project. The survey helped identify the knowledge gaps among the EAs and determined the training topics for the workshop. It exposed the low level of adoption and lack of awareness on essential agricultural tools and technologies on the part of farmers.
The training sessions were facilitated by the BASICS II Project Manager Lateef Sanni, Digital Extension & Advisory Services Specialist Godwin Atser, IITA Germplasm Health Unit Head Lava Kumar, ACAI project Research Assistant Ademola Adebiyi, IITA GoSeed Operations and Marketing Manager Akinyemi Ibikunle, Agribusiness Consultant Joseph Alloh, and NASC Southwest Zone Seed Certification Officer Akinyemi Library.
Other key officers from the State apart from the Permanent Secretary were Samuel Adeogun (VCDP State Program Coordinator), Kehinde Jokotoye (Program Coordinator, Ogun State Cassava Revolution Program), Fashola O. Surajudeen (Director of Planning, Ministry of Agriculture), Olufemi Akiniyi, Temitope Ajisafe, and Mrs Awe, among others.
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