The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and food security has trained farmers on yam processing, value-addition, packaging and utilisation in the South-east.
No fewer than 80 farmers were trained in Enugu state on the yam value-chains on Friday at the College of Education (Technical) ESCET, Enugu.
Declaring the training open, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said the ministry was working assiduously to ensure food security in the country.
Kyari, who was represented by the state coordinator and deputy director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Enugu, said the ministry through its development partners was trying to increase food production and also to ensure enough production of yams and other products.
“It’s in the light of this that the ministry is conducting a training programme for farmers in Enugu state to ensure continuity and supply of yam in Nigeria.
“The government policy on yam production and processes has huge potential to generate massive employment, eliminate hunger and poverty as well as save foreign exchange and create income and wealth among Nigerians,” he said.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the programme manager of Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme (ENADEP), Dr. Ogbonna Onyishi, said the training was organised to teach farmers the modern ways of processing yam.
Onyishi said yam apart from being food “is a source of raw material for industries,” urging farmers to pay attention to the training and make use of what they learnt.
He commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for enrolling the programme for farmers and urged the youth to go into farming to give Nigerians enough food.
Also, speaking, the supervisor for yam value-chain, Nnenna Onodu, urged the farmers to pay attention to get all that the source person would teach them.
