Agro-Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project, in Collaboration with Kano State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA), has trained 30 farmers on improved rice farming technology.
Speaking at a farmer’s field on Saturday in Gurdo community of Bagwai Local Government Area, the APPEALS’ Project Coordinator in Kano state, Alhaji Hassan Ibrahim said the aim of the training was to teach farmers how to increase theirs productivity.
Ibrahim, represented by the APPEALS’ specialist in charge of productivity enhancement, Malam Baushe Mohamed, said the farmer field and business school was initiated to train farmers on modern rice farming technology, introduce standard practices and improved variety of Faro 61.
According to him, such standard practice was aimed at getting a higher yield of production compared to the farmers’ usual traditional farming method.
Ibrahim added that such improved method would also assist in easing the farmers’ production processes in addition to reducing their difficulties and cost of production.
He said that APPEALS was ready to provide the beneficiaries with the necessary support that would enable them to remain in business.
“This programme will not only end here in Bagwai, we are hoping to extend it to other Local Government Areas, therefore, we are calling on the beneficiaries to make proper use of the opportunity,” he said.
The Managing Director of KNARDA, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulaiman, said that the training would also give the farmers opportunity to acquire knowledge on how to market their produce after harvest.
“Such improved method when applied from the land clearing to harvesting has since been in existence in most of the developed nations, especially the United States of America (USA).
”With the experience they acquire during the training, the farmers can contribute their quota to improve the agricultural sector in Nigeria to compete with the developed countries,” he said.
Sulaiman added that such initiative would go along way in complementing the efforts of both Kano State and Federal governments on agricultural production.
Malam Mansur Akawu, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on behalf of other beneficiaries commended APPEALS project and KNARDA for the initiative.
He assured that the eneficiaries would utilise the knowledge they acquired and teach other farmers that were not opportuned to attend the training programme.
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