Expert Tasks Rivers Farmers On Best Practices

Renowned farmer in Rivers State and Managing Director of Ada Farm Associates Limited, Port Harcourt, Dr. Heyford Alamina has urged rural farmers in the State to embrace agricultural best practices to improve their yields and income, stating that agriculture was a lucrative business.
Alamina who gave the advice in Port Harcourt while speaking with The Tide on agricultural sector and best practices, yesterday urged farmers to tap into the opportunities that abound in commercial agriculture.
He said the objective of venturing into agriculture was to teach the rural farmers on improved new skills and agricultural best practices in plantain, fish farming among others, where the people have comparative advantage, stressing that it was better to teach the people how to fish than to give them fishes.
He maintained that: “time of doling out gifts and cash to young men and women by politicians is over, but now those expectations have been dampened by the realities of today. Government in this direction is expected to educate our rural farmers and give them the opportunities to horn new skills that are obtainable in plantain and fish-farming to better their lives”.
According to him, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State should be commended for his foresight and initiative in building better legacy in agriculture since the inception of this administration two and halt years ago, pointing out that what is needed from the government now is to organise training programmes for farmers in the state in order to examine uses of food through value addition, thereby contributing to food security and increase livelihood of the rural people.

Bethel Sam Toby