Delta: NIHORT empower 3,580 farmers on crop production

The Chairman Governing Board of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NIHORT) of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Major General Mohammed Garba (rtd), has said President Buhari’ administration has empowered over 3,580 individuals through its training programmes.

Garba stated this in Kwale, Ndokwa West local government area of Delta state when NIHORT in partnership with Ndokwa representative trained and empowered 150 farmers in tomato, plantain and pepper production in Ndokwa, Ukwuani federal constituency.

According to him, “Agriculture is cardinal programme and has been identified as a critical multiplier sector that has a high potential for massive job creation needed to tackle the current unemployment crisis in the nation.

“Tomato and plantain are important economic and food security crops, they are essential for cooking and have been linked to many health benefits and solutions including a reduction in risk related disease and cancer.

“Since the coming of president Buhari’s administration, NIHORT has provided empowerment training to over 3,580 individuals.”

The 150 beneficiaries were drawn from across the three local government areas of Ukwuani, Ndokwa East and West that made up the federal constituency.

NIHORT Director, Dr. Ephraim Nwanguma, said Nigeria was the 14th largest producer of tomatoes in the world and second in Africa.

“Tomatoes provide several nutrients to the body especially vitamin a, c and k, and it is a major source of antioxidants and lycopene.

“The country ranked fifth in plantain production in the world and the production figure of 3,182,872 tonnes was obtained in 2019.”