Lafia – Gov.Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa has directed the state Ministry of Agriculture to establish a demonstration farms in all the 13 Local Government and 18 Development Areas of the state.
The governor issued the directive when he visited the ministry while on tour of ministries, departments and parastatals in the state.
He said that the farms be used in educating farmers on the application of fertilizer and usage of highbred seed to enable them replicate same on their farms.
The governor said that during the tour, he had discovered that extension services in the ministry had collapsed completely for more than seven years as a result of scarcity of funds.
He expressed dismay that Agriculture Extension Workers that were supposed to play a critical role in ensuring self-sufficiency in food production had been sidelined.
According to him, the purpose of his tour is to see things and interact with staff with a view to ensuring efficient delivery of service.
“We want to take stock of the situation on ground in our various ministries.
“This has tremendous amount of advantage because it gives you a firsthand knowledge about how the ministries are faring,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ministries visited by the governor include Local Government and Chieftaincy Affair, Land, Survey, and Health.
Others are Education, Science and Technology, as well as Agriculture and Natural Resources.(NAN)