DADIN KOWA – The Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin Kowa in Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, has distributed 10,000 fingerlings and 800 bags of certified seeds to its host communities to boost agricultural activities in the area.
The Acting Provost of the College, Malam Salisu Yusuf, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dadin Kowa on Wednesday.
Yusuf said the college distributed the fingerlings to fish farmers in Baure and Hinna villages to boost fish farming.
According to him, the two villages have two cooperative societies with over 50 members, adding that all the farmers benefitted from the gesture.
He said the college provided the farmers with easily adoptable technologies as part of its core mandate.
“We have established fish ponds; we have given them seedlings; we have given them the technology on how to manage the ponds.
“Thank God most of the farmers have copied the technology and established their own,” he said.
The acting provost also said that the college had distributed 800 bags of certified maize and rice seeds to the farmers in two adopted schools in the area, to inculcate farming culture in the students.
He promised that farmers in other villages would also benefit from the scheme.
Yusuf said the seeds were collected from the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria under the World Bank funded West African Agricultural Productivity (WAAP) programme.
“Our thinking here is that if these farmers are able to get these improved seeds, then there is that possibility that if they observe the agronomic practices, they will get double or triple yields.”
According to him, the college also distributed 500 two-day-old layers and feeds to some poultry farmers and schools to boost poultry production in the area.
He said the aim was to contribute to achieving national food security. (NAN)
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