Kogi state government has solicited the assistance of Synergos Nigeria in collating the bio-data of authentic farmers in the state to enable them access credit facilities for enhanced agricultural production. The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Kehinde Oloruntoba, made the appeal at the State Partnership for Agriculture (SPA)’s Core Delivery Team (CDT) meeting on sustainable agriculture in Lokoja. Oloruntoba noted that dearth of authentic farmers’ data had impeded the expected rapid growth of agricultural activities in the state. “Synergos should help the state to get authentic farmers’ bio-data before it winds up its programme in the state in the next one year,” he implored. Speaking earlier, Mr Victor Adejoh, Synergos Field Manager for Kogi, Benue and Kaduna states, reiterated the need for workable data to enhance planning and assistance to genuine farmers in the state. Represented by Miss Esther Joshua, the organisation’s representative in the state, Adejoh revealed that as part of its interventions, the organisation would soon organise training for processors. In her contribution, Mrs Folashade Olukotun of the State Agricultural Development Project (ADP) noted agricultural production in the state had been bedeviled by dearth of simple that farmers lacked simple farm tools for farmers.
Olukotun therefore opined that the Nigeria Korea Friendship Institute of Vocational and Advanced Technology in the state could partner the state government to some of the basic but modern farm tools for the farmers. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Idenyi, revealed that a rice-processing mill at Ejiba in YagbaWest local government area, was almost completed. According to him, among other state programmes, an on-going green house project at Osara Dam in Adavi local government area for all-year-round vegetable production had attained 95 per cent completion.
