By Emmanuel Ogbodo
The federal government is working on a web application to train farmers on the best farming practices for various crops. The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, shared this development during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program.
Responding to questions about extension services for farmers, Hon. Sabi Abdullahi highlighted the need for the app due to the low ratio of farmers to extension workers in the country. He explained, “We also realise that the ratio of extension workers to farmers is still something that many extension workers will not have the required information. Right now, we are currently working on an E-extension program. We are going to develop an app to be translated into the major languages so that farmers will be able to access it to guide their operation.”
The minister assured Nigerians that commodity prices will soon decrease due to several federal government programs and interventions. He noted that Nigeria has historically relied more on rainy-season farming and emphasised the importance of taking dry-season farming more seriously.
Addressing the federal government’s plan to import certain food commodities within the next 150 to 180 days, he said it is a short-term strategy to augment supply, and in the immediate future, prices will come down.
Nigeria is currently facing one of the worst food crises in generations, with food inflation at 40.87% in June 2024. International development organisations project that around 32 million Nigerians will face a severe food crisis between June and August 2024.
