Vice-Chancellor opens 2024 national agricultural extension planning meeting
The Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Kabiru Bala, has declared this year’s Annual National Agricultural Extension Review and Planning Meeting holding at the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), ABU, Zaria.
Declaring the meeting open, the Vice-Chancellor described the meeting as an “invaluable platform” at which the path forward for agricultural research and extension in Nigeria is evaluated, strategised and shaped.
The Vice-Chancellor, who stressed the need for paying more attention to irrigation farming as it is more stable, said Ahmadu Bello University is committed to driving impactful agricultural research that addresses the evolving needs of farmers and communities.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Prof. Garba Hamidu Sharubutu, said the need to review the achievements in agricultural research and extension activities does not require any emphasis.
“We must be proactive and take immediate steps to address the food security crisis by encouraging more farmers to engage in irrigation farming, conducting advocacy, sensitization campaign, and providing farmers with the farm inputs”, he stressed.
Represented by the Director, Extension, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Prof. B.Z. Abubakar, the Executive Secretary also said ARCN has vision to reduce poverty and increase food security by contributing to the establishment of sustainable agricultural growth and development in Nigeria.
The Director, Extension Services, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Ayodele Olawumi, represented the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, who urged the participants to produce a blueprint for sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria.
Prof. Sani Miko, former Country Director, SG 2000, Nigeria, gave a keynote address on the theme of the meeting – ‘Climate Change: Rethinking Agric Research, Extension and Cropping Patterns in Nigeria’.
Goodwill messages were delivered at the meeting by a number of agricultural research institutions such as Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), ABU Faculty of Agriculture, and many others.
The opening ceremony for the meeting was rounded off with a group photograph and visit to exhibition stand led by the Vice-Chancellor.
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Public Affairs Directorate,
Office of the Vice-Chancellor,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
(NAM)
Monday, 2nd December, 2024
