The National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM), an agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the Office of the Deputy Speaker, House of Representative, have organized a two-day training progamme on extension services to Youths and Women Cooperatives in South East Nigeria on Climate Agriculture for Cassava virus management.
Speaking during the flag-off of the training for Abia State, held recently at the State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) premises, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, said that the training is aimed at educating the Women and Youths on the effect of climate changes on the farm products and measures to control it.
Rt. Hon. Kalu, who recalled that sometimes farmers cultivate Cassava and it will not yield very well or come out being rotten, attributed some of these issues to the effect of Cassava viral disease.
Represented by Mr Oladimeji Ife, Rt. Hon. Kalu noted that the training would help the trainees to know how to identify diseases in Cassava with the use of their smart phones using an app that when installed on a phone, by mere snapping the leaves, stem and the root will analyse every disease affecting the crop and it will help the farmer know the suitable chemical for its eradication.
Mr Ife, who urged the trainees that came from different Locations of the State to embrace the training and make good use of the opportunity, reminded them that they are representing other millions of Abia farmers as they will extend the knowledge to people at the grassroots.
Earlier in his remark, the ADP Programme Manager, Mr Leanya Okoro, who described cassava as a vital crop for many communities, stated that cassava virus disease has poses a significant threat to cassava production, affecting not only yield but the quality of the crop.
Mr Okoro, reminded the farmers that the training program remains a crucial step towards empowering the women and Youths with the knowledge and skills necessary to control and manage cassava viral disease, improve their livelihoods and contribute to food security using climate smart agriculture.
The Programme Manager, who expressed his profound gratitude to the Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, for strengthening Abia ADP and for given them enabling environment to fulfill their mandates, also appreciated the sponsors who made the training possible.
The Trainers, to include Mr Ebi Effia, Mr Amen Simon and Mrs Nkemjika Nzeka, in their respective speech, discussed on the necessary steps needed in cassava crop cultivation, the best varieties to cultivate to ensure good yield, the suitable climate and soil for cassava cultivation, among others.
While they noted with dissatisfaction the scarcity of cassava products in the country, attributing it to the effect of cassava disease and the measures to control and manage it, they engaged them on technical training on how to download an app for cassava disease detection and how to use it.
The training, which also included field practice on how to use an app to detect cassava diseases, concluded with issuing certificate to the Trainees.
