IFDC trains farmers on agronomic practices

More than 1000 rice farmers in the state benefited from the training and awareness on best agronomic practices under the Nigeria Agro-Input Support (NAIS) project.IFDC is a public international organisation addressing critical issues such as international food security, the alleviation of global hunger and poverty, among others, through the use of agricultural technologies including fertilisers […]

More than 1000 rice farmers in the state benefited from the training and awareness on best agronomic practices under the Nigeria Agro-Input Support (NAIS) project.
IFDC is a public international organisation addressing critical issues such as international food security, the alleviation of global hunger and poverty, among others, through the use of agricultural technologies including fertilisers and other inputs.
Representatives of the centre and their partner, Syngenata, were in Lafiagi, a rice-producing area in Edu Local Government Area of the state, to sensitise local farmers on how to apply the best technologies and agronomic practices to improve their productivity.
Some of the rice farmers who spoke to Daily Trust in the community lauded the initiative of the two organisations which they said had significantly increased their yields.
A rice farmer, Issa Legbo from Tsugbadagba village at Lafiagi disclosed that the chemicals provided by Syngenta which they applied increased their harvest in the last farming season.
Legbo who said they were trained on how to spray the chemical and do the actual planting, stated that he used to harvest six bags but now his harvest has increased to 20 bags after the NAIS project intervention.
Also speaking, Mrs. Fatimah Ngana, who said she engages in farming to support her husband, also said that, “this intervention has simplified our operation. It has drastically reduced drudgery and enabled us to make more money at the end of the farming season. We want to thank the sponsors of this programme.”
Speaking with newsmen, the IFDC Programme Manager, Ihuoma Ugwu, who disclosed that the project currently works in three intervention states of Kwara, Kaduna and Niger, said more than 9,000 farmers had been trained since the commencement of the programme in May 2014.
Goodluck Ogu, Marketing Campaign Manager of Syngenta, an organisation that specialises on crops and seeds protection, noted that with improved technologies, farmers would make more money to take care of their families, adding, “we at Syngenta and IFDC are in the forefront of promoting those kinds of activities.”