By Kudirat Musa
Abuja – Dr Kadijat Abdulaziz, the Head of Quality Control, Nigeria Commodity Exchange, has urged the Federal and state governments to ensure synergy between agriculture extension workers and farmers toward greater efficiency and increased production.
She gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday, on the sideline of the ongoing stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja organised by Synergos Nigeria.
“Government should bring back the agriculture extension workers. These are people who served like the bridge between researchers and farmers.
“Train them so that they can go back and train the farmers. Government must also bring back model farms.
‘’In those days, government had model farms where these extension workers became proficient in what they did.
‘’Not just to train the extension workers on theory but also practical, so that when they go back to the farmers and impact the right knowledge to them.
“Farmers get convinced when they see things in practical terms.
‘’Most farmers want to pay to get premium price than to lose their commodities at the international markets for not meeting the required standards,” she said.
Abdulaziz also urged the Federal Government to make infrastructure available for farmers, to ease the stress they usually undergo during production time.
“In some developing countries like Kenya, government provides most of the infrastructure farmers need to progress.
“Government provides the infrastructure to prevent farmers from drying their commodities on the road side.
“Government also provides them with dryers, threshers and harvesters. These farmers can be placed in clusters for them to plan their activities in order not to interrupt the activities of other farmers.
“This is so in such that when some farmers are harvesting, others will be drying with the facilities provided by government.”
She also called for the sensitisation of farmers on the right pesticides and chemicals to use on crops to enhance the quality of produce and ensure increase in price.
The expert also called on government to ensure proper check on the type of agro-allied chemicals being imported into the country with a view to detecting those harmful to crops.
Abdulaziz , who noted that some agro-allied chemicals had been banned in Nigeria, said appropriate organs of the government must embark on enlightenment of farmers on what chemicals to use and how to use them.
‘’Most farmers are not aware of banned substances, so we must educate them on the pesticides that are permissible and how to use them.
“Some pesticides may be permitted but misused by farmers in terms of application.”
She also called on farmers to ensure quality and standard on food production, right from farm to the table, adding that this would increase their production and income. (NAN)