As parts of mobility support to enhance livestock extension and advisory service delivery at livestock value chain clusters in Kogi State, the state government, through Kogi State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (Kogi L-PRES) on Saturday distributed 21 motorcycles to Livestock Extension Agents across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state
Kogi L-PRES also distributed 1,000 livestock extension to livestock farmers across the 64 value chain clusters in the state.
In addition to this, veterinary medical equipment — comprising laboratory equipment, meat inspection kits, ambulatory kits, and surgical kits — were handed over to the Department of Veterinary Services, Ministry of Livestock Development, Lokoja, to improve animal disease diagnosis, veterinary services, food safety, and security in the state.
While flagging off the distribution exercise in Lokoja on Saturday, the state Commissioner for Livestock Development, Dr. Olufemi Bolarin, said the initiative was part of activities heralding a one-day stakeholders’ engagement on effective livestock extension and advisory services delivery in the state.
Bolarin, who charged the Livestock Extension Agents to make judicious use of the facilities provided to them for the intended purpose of advancing livestock value chain development in Kogi, also cautioned the beneficiaries against using the facilities for commercial or private ventures, emphasising that they were strictly meant for carrying out extension and advisory services.
The commissioner also urged the L-PRES State Project Coordinator, Otaru Abdulkabir, to continue to prioritise staff welfare and remuneration to achieve improved productivity in the livestock sub-sector.
“The economic power of any nation depends on its level of agricultural transformation as a bedrock of socio-economic development and employment creation,” the commissioner noted.
Earlier in his own remarks, the State Project Coordinator of L-PRES, Mr. Otaru Abdulkabir, presented the structure of livestock extension and advisory service delivery in Kogi State.
Abdulkabir expressed delight over the adoption of the Farmer-to-Farmer Extension and Advisory Service model, with lead livestock farmers and value chain cluster coordinators efficiently playing their roles across the priority value chains in the state
While explaining that livestock extension services in Kogi had gone digital, showcasing the technical know-how of extension workers who now use the KoboTool platform to capture real-time data during service delivery, Abdulkabir disclosed that the collaboration between Kogi L-PRES and the Kogi Agricultural Development Project (ADP) had yielded positive and impactful results, assuring that the progress would be sustained in the years ahead.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Timothy Ojomah; the Managing Director of Kogi ADP, Dr. Bello Ogirima; the State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Mrs. Abah Helen; and the representative of livestock farmers, Mr. Ibrahim Daniel Arome, in their separate remarks, commended the initiative, saying it would further strengthen livestock productivity in the state.
They also urged the government at all levels to tackle the problem of “ghost farmers” and ensure that only genuine farmers benefit from government interventions and support programmes.
