Gombe State Government has concluded plans to recruit 750 extension workers as part of efforts to boost the capacity of farmers in the state.
The State’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Dahiru Buba-Biri, disclosed this when he received the Country Director, Sasakawa Global 2000, Prof. Sani Ahmed-Miko, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Gombe on Saturday.
“We have a plan to recruit a total of 750 extension workers in the next five years as our plan is to recruit 150 extension workers every year,” Buba-Biri said.
He said the state government found it necessary to recruit more extension workers as the existing number of 200 extension staff was grossly inadequate to cater for the number of farmers in the state.
The Commissioner said the extention workers when recruited would be given the necessary training to enable them discharge their duties effectively.
He said the state government had already paid $200,000 as support to the Sasakawa Global 2000 in appreciation of the tremendous works it was doing in the state.
“Gombe State Government will continue to support Sasakawa because it has changed the face of farming in the state, especially the new farming technologies that improved the capacity of farmers.
He called on farmers in the state to fully embrace the new farming technologies introduced by the organisation to enhance their productivity.
The Commissioner also advised farmers in the state to form cooperative societies to enable them access loan facility from government and financial institutions.
“Farmers who operate under cooperative societies stand a better chance of getting loan facility. So, it is better for farmers to form such cooperatives, “he said.
On fertilizers, the commissioner commended the Federal Government for its intervention programmes and the Presidential Initiative on fertilizer.
In his remarks, the Country Director, SG 2000, Prof. Sani Ahmed-Miko, commended the state government for its continuous support to the organisation and urged it to sustain the partnership.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the SG 2000 team was in Gombe State in continuation of the media field day tour organised by the organisation to meet with beneficiaries of its various intervention programmes. (NAN)
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