BENIN CITY – THE Edo State Government yesterday renewed its call for farmers to participate in its ongoing registration and profiling exercise which it said is meant to strengthen agricultural development in the state.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Jerry Nwangue, made the call during an awareness and interactive tour across the five local government areas in Edo Central Senatorial District where he said the exercise is designed to help the government identify genuine farmers and ensure they benefit directly from agricultural programmes and interventions.
According to him, proper documentation of farmers would enable the government to plan effectively and provide needed support, including access to inputs, funding opportunities and other incentives aimed at boosting productivity.
He said “This registration and profiling exercise is very important to us as a government. We want to know who the real farmers are, where they are located, and what exactly they are producing. Without proper data, it becomes difficult to plan and support you effectively.”
Nwangue also urged farmers to embrace communal farming, noting that the state government is currently clearing large expanses of land to support such initiatives. He encouraged communities to make land available for this purpose, assuring them that the government would undertake the clearing to make it suitable for cultivation.
He explained that communal farming would not only improve food production but also create opportunities for collaboration among farmers, reduce individual costs and enhance access to mechanised farming techniques.
“We are also encouraging communal farming. The government is already clearing large mm of land across the state, and we want communities to key into this initiative. If you can identify land in your locality, we will come in and clear it to make it suitable for large-scale farming.”
During the engagements, farmers across the district commended the State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, for initiating the programme, describing it as a step in the right direction for the agricultural sector but highlighted several challenges affecting their productivity including insecurity, which many of them said remained a major threat to farming activities in the region then limited access to finance and poor road infrastructure.
Responding, the commissioner assured the farmers that the government is committed to addressing the identified challenges.
Speaking with journalists after the tour, Nwangue commended Governor Okpebholo for what he described as a visionary initiative, revealing that the farmers’ registration programme was conceived by the governor as part of broader efforts to reposition agriculture in the state.
