Written by NAN Monday, 27 June 2011 00:00
Dr Mike Uwazie, Director of FCT Agricultural Development Project (ADP), says efforts by Nigerian farmers to increase production are frustrated by high post-harvest losses.
Uwazie made the statement on Wednesday at the opening of a sensitization workshop for youths in Gwagwalada, on post-harvest storage of produce.
He said 70 per cent of produce was lost due to poor post-harvest handling and that the workshop was aimed at addressing such losses.
Uwazie said the losses were due to inadequate value addition and poor storage infrastructure.
“In trying to address the challenges, the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat in collaboration with NAPEP decided to organise this workshop to empower youths on value addition and storage intervention,” he said.
In her remarks, Mrs Veronica Ati, Secretary, FCT National Poverty Eradication Programme, said the workshop was aimed at enlightening youths and rural farmers on post-harvest processing, storage and packaging. “There is no economic development in absolute terms without a virile agricultural sector and there is no virile post-harvest agricultural sector without a well developed seed processing and storage improvement programme.
“To realise this noble objective, there is need to have trained technical personnel in all areas of post-harvest processing and storage mechanism to enlighten the farming populace,” she said.
Ati said the workshop would no doubt reduce post-harvest waste by farmers and enhance food security in the FCT.
She called on the participants to take full advantage of the workshop to reduce agricultural waste. (NAN)