NAN-AE-7
E-conferencing
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Nov. 29, 2017 (NAN) Prof. Mohammed Khalid-Othman, Director, National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Zaria, says the institute will introduce e-conferencing facilities to boost food production across the country.
Khalid-Othman said this while speaking with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the 2017/2018 National Agricultural Extension Review and Planning Meeting in Zaria on Wednesday.
He said that the e-conferencing facilities would facilitate efforts to share ideas and reach out to one another without necessarily coming together.
“NAERLS is working hard to see how it can create a platform, such that every partner will leverage on the use of that platform to reach out.
“That platform as at today is called `National Farmer Help Line’ and as a follow-up to that, we also have the e-conferencing facilities.
“The whole idea is that we should take advantage of the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) since we don’t have enough funds to enable us to be physically visiting places,’’ he said.
He said that ICT was the in-thing nowadays, adding that stakeholders in the agriculture sector should use it to promote efficient and effective productivity.
“I think that is also what other countries and other developed worlds are doing nowadays: bringing stakeholders together to sit down and plan with the aid of ICT.
“So, it is high time, our discussion at this meeting focused on how to reach out to each other and how we can deliver our mandate,’’ he said.
On the meeting, Khalid-Othman said that it was aimed at reviewing what had happened in the 2017 plans, with a view to planning effectively for the 2018 fiscal year.
He said that a lot of things, which had made the Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) very difficult to operate, had occurred.
“Most of the time, when we look at the activities of ADPs with the level of their personnel, you find out that there are a lot of problems; these problems are there and we have been talking about them.
“It all boils down to the issue of funding; however, we also have to thank God that there are other interested NGOs and donor agencies coming in to assist.
“Every time, we are expecting government to give us money to work; however, we need to think out of the box and look inwards.
“Do we continue to wait for government to fund our activities?
“We can take advantage of the God-given resources that we have, the donor agencies and partners, so that we can synergise to be able to meet our objectives,’’ he said.
Khalid-Othman said that the institute was discussing with World Food Prize Foundation on how to convert its adopted schools to Nigeria Youth Institute, a branch of Global Youth Institute, with international support of agricultural innovations and creativity.
“On our part in NAERLS, we believe the agricultural potential in Nigeria lie with the youth.
“Thus, we have actively championed the training of youths at various levels, from secondary school students to fresh graduates of tertiary institutions.
“At the secondary school level, we have engaged more than 100 schools across the nation under the `Adopted School Project’,’’ he added. (NAN)
KLM/GOM/OOK
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Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam and Dayo Komolafe