Kogi community lauds World Bank over capacity building in cassava production

Ogale community in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi has commended the World Bank as well as the Federal and Kogi Governments for enhancing their capacity in cassava production.

The Ologale of Ogale, Oba Michael Otitoju, gave the commendation at Ogale on Friday during the harvest of cassava tubers from farms established under the Fadama III Additional Financing Project for cluster farmers.

The traditional ruler described the development as “a dream come true,” saying he had looked forward to the day.

Otitoju said it was a blessing for the project to be sited in his domain and his people given the high-level training.

Earlier, the Chairman of Ogale Cassava Production Cluster Farmers, Vincent Adeshina, said though the community had long engaged in cassava production, the farmers never ventured into large scale production.

Adeshina said that the concept of a farmer per hectare brought by the World Bank under the Fadama project initially posed a great challenge in view of the little capacity of farmers.

He, however, said that they were able to overcome it through training on best agronomic practices to achieve the good results.

Adeshina said the people now see farming from a business perspective rather than the subsistence they were used to.

The chairman also commended the National and Fadama Coordination Office and its counterpart in Kogi for the positive impact the project had on the people.

Mr Peter Ajibaiye a representative of the National Project Coordinator for the Fadama III Additional Financing Project, urged the farmers to apply the knowledge they acquired to ensure good harvest.

Ajibaiye said the objective of the programme was to romp-up production, adding that the farmers had been linked with Off-Takers who would buy off their produce.