The Federal Government under its Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), has trained and empowered forty Small Holder Rural Households on best practices for backyard goat meat production in Abia state.
Speaking during the empowerment held at the Training Hall of the Abia Agricultural Development Programme(ADP),Umuahia,the Director,Extension Services,Federal Department of Agricultural Extension, Dr Frank Satumari Kudla,who was represented by Dr Godwin Oyigoga, said the federal government decided to invest in goat meat production,so as to reduce the high demand for cow meat.
According to him,when the demand for cow meat consumption is cut down,it would further reduce grazing activities of herders,thereby curtailing the crisis emanating from their activities.
The Federal Director of Agriculture,Abia State,Engr Victor Iheduwa,said the support from the Federal government would add to the growth of Agriculture in the state, increase livestock farming, as well as meat production.
Iheduwa stated that time has come to take goat rearing as a business,thereby urging the beneficiaries of the empowerment to take the business seriously.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture,Deacon Effort Nwankwo,thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his tireless effort in moving agriculture forward, as Agriculture remains one of the strong pillars of his administration.
While commending the president for his fight against covid 19, thanked him for introducing the Anchor Borrowers Programme,which Abia embraced and also for choosing Abia to represent the South East zone in the Backyard goat production.
Meanwhile, the Programme Manager, Abia ADP, Hon Isreal Amanze, disclosed that Abia is the only State in the South east benefitting from the training on the rudiment of goat rearing, commending the governor of the state,Dr Okezie Ikpeazu,for his passion in Agriculture,which has made the sector to thrive.
In an Interview with newsmen, Hon Amanze,said the programme is a proposal of the state and federal governments to encourage the backyard keeping of goat and as well, the production of more livestock farmers.
He said government is training farmers on goat production, because goat meat is one of the delicacies in our society and so many people are interested in it, especially the breed we have in West Africa.
The Programme Manager stated that goat meat is highly cherished with exceptional nutritional benefits,but it is not always available, hence the need to boost its production and domestication.
He revealed that forty farmers were drawn from the 17 Local Government Areas of the state to be trained and empowered with a stimulus pack of a male and a female goat, supplementary feeds and medicinals to be used in keeping the goats for further production.
Amanze stated that the goats are not for consumption,advising the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity,so that they can duplicate and produce more goats, adding that the empowerment is simply to stimulate them to go into goat farming.
The ADP boss, however,pleaded with the Federal government to address the issue of herders crisis in the state, so that as more people are encouraged to go into agriculture, the farmers/herders issue would not be a barrier.
He pointed out that it would be a sad occurrence, if a farmer invests heavily into agriculture and the crops get destroyed by herdsmen.
However,Amanze, appealed for the security challenge in the nation to be addressed adequately and those perpetrating evil under the guise of herdsmen to be proscribed, just as other groups have been proscribed,so it would not get to a point whereby farmers would be forced to secure themselves.
