Expert urges synergy between agriculture extension workers, farmers

Dr Kadijat Abdulaziz, Head of Quality Control, Nigeria Commodity Exchange, has urged federal and state governments to ensure synergy between agriculture extension workers and farmers for greater efficiency and increased production.

Abdulaziz gave the advise at a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja organised by Synergos Nigeria recently.

“Government should bring back 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.

She 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.”

NAN