Bayelsa Government says it would assist subsistence farmers in the state with improved techniques and inputs to boost production and achieve food security.
Mr David Alagoa, Commissioner for Agriculture,
stated on Saturday in Yenagoa, while fielding questions from members of
Federated Correspondent’s Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists currently on
inspection tour of projects in the state.
Alagoa explained that the move was to empower small
scale farmers considering the fact that they produced 80 per cent of the food
being consumed in the state.
He said that government would encourage farmers in
the state to approach food production as a business in order to boost
productivity.
Alagoa said: “I tell you, 80 per cent of the food
that we eat comes from subsistence farmers. It is those farmers in the village
that feed us, so we have to empower them. That is one angle that we are looking
at.
“We have put in place a policy to boost the
productivity of subsistence farmers because if they perform so wonderfully
without government’s assistance, you can imagine what they can do if they are
encouraged.
“Specifically, we are going to assist them through
extension services, improved farming methods, high yield seedlings and access
to good markets for their produce.”
He explained that the farmers would be reached
through their various constituencies to ensure that no one was left out.
”We are going to have 24 offices at the state
constituency levels so that everybody can have access to the one nearest to
their constituencies rather than their local government areas.
“If we use the constituency approach to farming, we
will reach and have impact on more people,” the commissioner said.
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