The Kogi state coordination office of the Agro Processing Productivity Enhancement and livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS) in collaboration with the National Cereals Research Institute Badegi (NCRI) showcased its innovations in rice production through the establishment of demonstration farms.
The state project coordinator, Dr. Sanni Abdullahi Ozomata, while addressing farmers at its Farmers Field Day at Ozugbe community in Kogi local government area said the day was to further raise farmers’ awareness on the adoption and use of improved seedlings such as faro 44, 60, 67 that “can withstand flooding, diseases and drought.”
“A bottom-top approach has been adopted in facilitating the necessary support for the farmers in the state and no support will be forced down the throat of any farmer as the technologies being introduced to the farmers are the ones suitable for their farmland,” he said.
He said Kogi APPEALS had also established demonstration farms in Ejule Ojeba, Shintaku, Geregu, Kabawa and Omi communities to promote a System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for improved rice production.
In his remarks, the deputy governor and chairman, Kogi state steering committee for the APPEALS project, Chief David Edward Onoja, who was represented by the deputy chief of staff, Sunday Faleke, said agricultural technologies enabled farmers to move from subsistence farming to a profit-making venture and, therefore, urged farmers in the state to “embrace these innovations to improve” their productivity.
Also speaking, the executive director, NCRI, Dr. Aliyu Umar, who was represented by the director of planning, monitoring, and evaluation, Dr. Emmanuel Adejoh Maji, said the institute had the mandate of driving the generic improvement of rice and other cereal crops.
He appreciated the state project coordinator for “ensuring that farmers all over the state benefit from the project.”
The Ohimege Igu of Koton-Karfe, Alhaji Abdulrazak Isah-Koto, in his speech, appreciated the APPEALS project for choosing the Ozugbe community as part of the site to establish the demonstration farms.
He noted that with the various technologies and innovations demonstrated to farmers by the APPEALS project and “educating them on choosing the right variety that can withstand flooding, it is hoped that farmers in the area will experience higher yields in the future.”
