Fifty thousand farmers have begun training on organic agricultural development and practice in Abia State to minimise environmental and soil degradation.
The training is being facilitated by the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, International Organization for Good Leadership and Agricultural Development, and the Abia State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP).
At the flagoff ceremony of the training at the ADP headquarters in Umuahia, the state capital, Governor Alex Otti said the training was aimed at promoting non-agribusiness and food sufficiency in the country.
Represented by the state director of agriculture services, Ngozi Obioma, he explained that the administration was investing heavily in agriculture to boost the economy of the state.
He expressed delight that the state is among the 22 pilot states selected across the country for the training and urged the farmers to participate fully in it to maximise the benefits.
Otti, who said the administration had paid their N2,000 participation fee each, noted that effective agricultural practices would promote good health, generate jobs and engender rural farmers’ participation.
In her remarks, the state commissioner for agriculture, Monica Ironkwe, represented by the director of finance, ADP, Edna Egbu underscored the importance of organic agricultural development.
Similarly, the state director of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Aloysius Mba said the ministry was committed to improving food security and the commodity value chain in the state.
Earlier in her remarks, the director in charge of ADP, Nnenna Uduma assured that ADP would continue to collaborate with relevant agricultural agencies and institutes to train farmers in the state.
