Katsina State Government has converted 722 local government workers to agricultural extension service officers to support farmers with proper information to enhance agricultural production in the state.
Gov. Dikko Radda made the disclosure at a two-day training organised for the workers with the theme “Building the Future of Extension Services”, on Tuesday in Katsina.
He said that the decision became imperative in order to address the manpower shortage in agricultural extension services, adding that as at May 2023, the state had only 72 extension workers.
The governor said that the new initiative would ensure that each of the 361 political wards across the 34 local government areas of the state have not less than two agric extension service workers.
“I believe extension service is a game-changer for any agricultural development,” he said, adding that the conversion was to strengthen extension services and ensure massive food production.
“They will be trained at their respective senatorial zones and local government areas to ensure that they master the concept very well,” he said, adding that each of them would be given a motorcycle for easy movement within their area of responsibility.
He assured farmers that the government would provide them with improved seeds and other inputs to boost productivity.
In his remarks, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Prof. Ahmed Bakori, said the government was determined to transform agricultural activities to attain food sufficiency and security, as well as address the current insecurity in the state.
The commissioner said that the responsibility of the extension workers was to deliver latest scientific information regarding farming that would trigger growth in agriculture, directly to farmers.
Also speaking, the Managing Director, Katsina State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim, charged the participants to pay attention to what they would be taught for them to disseminate it properly to farmers.
He also urged farmers to cooperate with the extension service workers for the overall development of agriculture in the state.
