IBADAN – The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR and T), Ibadan, on Thursday, held a training workshop on ram fattening for farmers, unemployed youths and pensioners from the South West.
The institute’s Executive Director, Prof. James Adediran, told participants that the workshop was aimed at training farmers to produce fat and healthy rams for the Muslim Eid-el-Kabir festival.
Adediran, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Dr Ayodele Adegbite, said that the workshop, with the theme “Ram Fattening as Income generation and Poverty Alleviation’’ would enable farmers to make more income.
The executive director said that every year, thousands of rams were transported from the Northern part of the country to the South East during the Muslim festival.
He, however, noted that it was important for the people of the South East to learn how to rear and fatten the animal so that they would not need to transport it all the way from the North.
He said it was important for farmers to learn how to take care of animals, especially rams, “so that we can have fat and healthy animals fit for consumption.
“The rams are also important for Muslims during the Eid-el-Kabir festival, as they mostly use rams for sacrifice during the festival.’’
Prof. Veronica Obatolu, the Chief Executive Officer, Bora Agro Venture Nigeria Ltd., a commercial arm of IAR and T, advised participants to put what they have learnt into practice.
She said “go ahead and practice all that you have learnt today and if you encounter any difficulty, feel free to call on the institute.’’ (NAN)
