By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, distributed cassava stem to some farmers in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State at the weekend.
Mr Ogbe told the beneficiaries that government has also concluded plans to build dams in rural areas to support irrigation, as the country could no longer depend solely on rain for food production.
The stems distributed to the farmers were developed by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP-Nigeria), according to Mr Ogbe.
The Minister explained that they were enriched with Vitamin ‘A’ to enhance nutrition.
The Ochi Idoma, Chief Elias Obekpa, said farming was a God-given vocation and the only means of livelihood of the Idoma people.
Represented by Chief Anthony Adejo, a palace chief, Mr Obekpa urged his followers to heed President Muhammadu Buhari’s call to return to the farm.
He said it was time for Nigerians to wake up from their slumber and turn to agriculture. According to him, government must address the issue of unemployment.
