The Anambra State coordination office of the FGN IFAD VCDP has encouraged farmers to share their successful agronomic practices with fellow farmers to enhance food security.
Dr. Mrs. Deborah Onyefulu, Acting State Programme Coordinator, made this call during a Training of Trainers (TOT) Pre-season Workshop and Seasonal Climate Prediction for the 2024 cropping season in Awka. She urged farmers to stop hoarding information and instead disseminate their knowledge.
The workshop, attended by extension agents, liaison officers, lead farmers, and rice and cassava processors from eight participating council areas in Anambra State, featured various paper presentations.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Onyefulu reiterated the commitment of the FGN IFAD VCDP to support farmers in addressing the current food scarcity and high costs across the country. She urged participants to share the knowledge gained to achieve a widespread positive impact, emphasizing the importance of learning optimal planting times, locations, crop spacing, and fertilizer application to maximize yields.
During a lecture on the 2024 seasonal climate prediction, Dr. James Ijamy, Chairman of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), revealed that Anambra State’s predicted annual rainfall for 2024 ranges from 1893mm to 2158mm. Represented by Mrs. Chizaram Adedoyin from the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet), he noted that Ayamelum, Anambra East, and West Council Areas are expected to receive the lowest rainfall, while Ogbaru, Ihiala, Nnewi South, Aguata, and Orumba South are anticipated to have the highest.
Mr. Joshua Chinemeze, a resource person, discussed good agronomic practices (GAP) and soil management for rice and cassava production, highlighting challenges such as inadequate technology, biotic factors, poor input supply, low yields, and poor milling quality.
Participants, including Mr. Paul Ifezulike, Extension Officer for Awka North, Mr. Obichukwu Nwankwo of the Rice Dealers Association Achalla, and Mrs. Ifeoma Nzelu, a cassava farmer from Ogbaru, shared various strategies for disseminating the knowledge gained. They praised the FGN IFAD VCDP for its unwavering support and called for more capacity-building workshops.
The workshop concluded with rice and cassava off-takers sharing their experiences.
