The Oyo government has urged farmers in the state to embrace modern farming methods in order to secure food security in the state and throughout the country.
According to The Punch, as part of the preparations for World Food Day 2023, the state commissioner for agriculture and rural development, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, delivered this advice to journalists in Ibadan.
‘Sustainable food system for a healthy planet’ is the theme of this year’s World Food Day.
Olasunkanmi pointed out that adopting modern farming techniques was the only way farmers could increase farm productivity (crops and livestock), and that improved seeds might produce higher-quality yields than traditional methods.
In order to increase food security, he said that the Oyo State government, under Seyi Makinde, has invested in the training and retraining of farmers and agricultural extension officers in a variety of roles.
The commissioner mentioned that approximately 285 farmers received emergency training and saw demonstrations of climate-resilient practices in maize, tomatoes, cassava, yam, and cowpea to increase yield when speaking about the government’s efforts through his ministry to maintain food security.
Olasunkanmi added that around 135 farmers were also given one bag of NPK fertilizer apiece and that approximately 95 youth and women farmers received equal training on the use, processing, packing, and value addition of yam and cassava.
He said that 80 of the farmers had also received training on all-season tomatoes, which would increase productivity all year long.
The Oyo State-IITA Youth Agribusiness Incubation Park Centre, formerly known as Awe Rural Community Development Centre, was cited by the commissioner as an illustration.
He declared, “In coordination with the Federal Government, we have equally distributed chicken feed to poultry producers affected by the 2022 floods.
“In conjunction with Elyson Gold Consultancy EGC, 250 farmers received training in mushroom cultivation. To stop the selling of low-quality feeds to farmers, especially poultry farmers, the feed mill system has implemented a quality control system for animal feed.”
