Date: 2018-02-09

Concerned about national production and eradicating hunger, the Executive Director, Agriculture and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Dr Olufemi Oladunni, has said the research institute is determined to support sustainable food production to improve food security and livelihoods, while also safeguarding natural resources.

According to Oladunni, the organisation will work to help farmers participate in "viable, safe and dignified" entrepreneurial opportunities in the value chain.

Addressing a training on Agribusiness for Women and Youths in River State, and the National Training of Extension Managers in Value Chain Development, held at the institute's headquarters in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, Oladunni said the institute was engaged in sharing technologies and best practices to increase production and productivity, including reduction of post-harvest losses and improved grain quality.

o enable more women and youths participate in profitable farming and food production, Oladunni stressed the need to strengthen capacities of participants in agribusiness through its capacity development activities, including promotion of resource efficiency, production and supply chains in the agriculture sector.

His words: "ARMTI has been playing leading roles in this mission of the diversification of the Nigerian economy through the strengthening of the agriculture and rural development (ARD) sector. Two basic strategies are critical to the achievement of this mission- the development of the capacity of the actors in the agricultural sector, and the perfection of the agricultural practices being deployed nationwide. This two-pronged strategy is what ARMTI is strongly positioned to execute and we have been on a steady march through the nooks and crannies of this country, carrying out these critical interventions."

Speaking on the two programmes, Oladunni said the they have capacity to transform not only the lives of the participants, but the entire community and region.

He said: "For the national training of extension managers in value chain development (VCD); it is borne out of the understanding that constant training and re-training is the only way to achieve sustainable development. Extension managers drawn from all over the nation are the best positioned to ensure the proper spread of the VCD message."