Kogi Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support, L-PRES, Project has distributed vital equipment and motorcycles to extension agents and farmers to boost livestock productivity.
The Commissioner for Livestock Development, Dr Olufemi Bolarin, disclosed this during a stakeholders engagement on livestock extension services on Saturday in Lokoja.
Bolarin said the initiative underscored Governor Ahmed Ododo’s administration’s commitment to transform the state’s agricultural landscape, promoting food security and enhancing rural economic growth.
He urged the beneficiaries to utilise the equipment strictly for livestock value chain development and warned against their commercial or private use.
The commissioner emphasised that agriculture remains critical to socio-economic development and employment creation, stressing the need to prioritise staff welfare for optimal productivity.
According to him, the distribution exercise and stakeholder engagements are designed to strengthen the livestock sector, improve food security and drive sustainable economic growth in the state.
Also speaking, the L-PRES State Project Coordinator, Mr Abdulkabir Otaru, said the project had adopted digital tools, such as Kobo Tool, for real-time data capture in its livestock extension and advisory services.
He said the project also adopted a Farmer-to-Farmer extension approach in collaboration with Kogi Agricultural Development Project, ADP, to enhance outreach and impact.
Otaru listed the items distributed to include 21 motorcycles for livestock extension agents across the 21 local government areas, 1,000 livestock extension manuals to farmers in 64 livestock value chain clusters, as well as veterinary medical and laboratory equipment, meat inspection kits and surgical tools.
“These resources were provided to the Department of Veterinary Services to improve animal health, productivity and food safety,” he said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Timothy Ojonah, and the Managing Director of Kogi ADP, Mr George Ogirima, commended the initiative for its potential to improve livestock productivity.
They advised against the inclusion of “ghost farmers” to ensure that genuine beneficiaries receive the support.
A beneficiary, Mr Daniel Arome, lauded the state government and L-PRES for the intervention and pledged to make effective use of the items for their intended purpose. (NAN)
