BY Precious Owolabi

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In a move to strengthen the agricultural sector and improve productivity, the Ekiti State Government through the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), has trained another 115 livestock farmers on the use of modern technology to design and implement effective interventions that promote productivity and technology adoption among farmers.

Speaking at the event in Ado Ekiti, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade said that the training programme was also designed to support the collection and analysis of data on productivity and technology adoption.

He disclosed that the State L-PRES Project would ultimately benefit over 200,000 livestock farmers in the state and generate over 1.5 million indirect jobs through the World Bank-supported Livestock Productivity and Resilience Enhancement Project (L-PRES) relevant value chain actors and players, as the programme would work in synergy with other ancillary agribusinesses to ensure sustainable food security in the State.

The Commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Ebenezer Ojo, said that L-PRES organised the training programme on productivity and technology adoption survey and analysis to support the collection and analysis of data adoption among farmers.

The Commissioner highlighted four priority livestock value chains for the state including dairy/beef, sheep/goat, piggery and poultry (broiler and egg production).

He said the training programme was designed to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to design and implement effective intervention to improve productivity and technology adoption.

In his contribution, the State Project Coordinator, L-PRES, Mr Olayinka Adedipe stressed the need for farmers to adopt improved agricultural practices in order to sustain production in a risky environment.

He explained that the adoption of technology can become a key coping strategy for farmers to mitigate risks and improve productivity.

The L-PRES initiative is being implemented across 20 states in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

It is expected to directly benefit 1.43 million farmers nationwid, 30% of whom will be women.

In his presentation, the Lead Consultant, Prof. James Okunlola of Synergy Impact Consultants Limited, stressed the significance of training in promoting technology adoption among farmers, noting that training programmes like this are essential for equipping farmers with the skills and knowledge needed to adopt new innovation and improve their productivity.

Participants at the training praised the state government and L-PRES for the initiative, stressing that the training had equipped them with valuable knowledge and skills.

According to them, the forum had opened their eyes to the potentials of technology in improving agricultural productivity.