NAN-AE-2
Extension
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Dec. 22, 2017 (NAN) Prof. Mohammed Khalid-Othman, the Director of National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Services (NAERLS), says the disproportionate ratio of extension officers to farmers is hindering agricultural growth in Nigeria.
He said this at the agency’s Merit Awards ceremony, organised for its workers, in Zaria on Friday.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the end-of-the-year awards ceremony was organised by the management of NAERLS to appreciate excellence by the workforce.
Khalid-Othman stressed that agricultural research findings would be useless, if the results were not appropriately conveyed to the end-users (the farmers).
The director attributed the shortage of extension workers in the country to factors such as retirement, death, increased population as well as inability of State Agricultural Development Project (ADPs) to sustain them.
He underscored the need for the government to give special attention to extension officers by increasing their number, so as to stimulate the growth of the agricultural sector and the nation at large.
Khalid-Othman, however, advised farmers to learn and understand modern farming techniques, adding that they should also view agriculture as a business in order to achieve excellent results.
“When farmers take farming as a business, they would be able to learn more about it; they would also be able to move from using traditional farming methods to modern techniques to spur increased yield.”
In his speech, Prof. Ibrahim Garba, the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), lauded NAERLS for the Merit Awards ceremony, which he described as a productive innovation.
He said that the event presented an opportunity to show employees the value of quality service delivery, while encouraging them to become more productive.
He encouraged the institute to sustain the awards programme so as to inspire other staff to give excellent service delivery and provoke healthy competition among the workers.
He advised the workers to be mindful of the legacies they would leave behind after retiring from public service.
While appreciating the institute’s contributions to the country’s agricultural development, Garba said that NAERLS had positively projected the image of ABU, not only in Nigeria but also globally.
In a goodwill message, Prof. Sani Miko, the Country Director of SASAKAWA Africa, said that good communication was critical to the success of extension services.
He said that a new programme on rice and soya bean production would soon be launched in Kaduna and Niger states to boost productivity.
Also speaking, Prof. Emanuel Ikani, Chairman, Planning Committee of the Merit Awards, said that the awards covered different cadres of the workforce.
Ikani, who is also a Deputy Director in NAERLS, said that in selecting the awards winners, the committee focussed its attention solely on the actual performance of each worker.
NAN reports that 10 employees, who had distinguished themselves in their different spheres of endeavour, were given plaques and deep freezers. (NAN)
KLM/OOK
=======