Farmers in the Niger Delta region of the country have been tasked to be prepared for possible flooding that comes with the start of the rainy season. An Assistant Chief Agriculture Officer of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Extension Department, Gloria Iboroma, gave the advice during a two-day training workshop for affected farmers titled; ‘Emergency Training and Demonstration of Climate Resilience in Maize Production in the Southeast, Southsouth, and Southwest regions’.
She said that the training was organised to prevent another occurrence of the severe damage caused by last year’s flooding, to mitigate the consequences of the 2022 flood disaster and prevent similar events in the future. According to her, “the purpose of the training was to alleviate the impact of flood on victims and provide resources to farmers to increase production and ensure food security. She expressed her dismay about the rapid increase in the cost of food items in the state, attributing it to severe flooding from previous year.
The beneficiaries expressed optimism that, with the availability of soft loans and improved seedlings, they would not be unprepared for the annual flood. One of them, Gold Ingowari-Ekini, noted that the training had increased their confidence in engaging in broad-scale maize cultivation. “They have now given us the empowerment to go into maize farming for mass production. They are also trying to give us the best species, and with the workshop, we strongly believe that farmers are going to make great output”, she said.
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