ATASP1 ZPC Calls for Knowledge Sharing amongst Farmers during Preseason GAP Training

By Olisemeka Obeche

The Zonal Program Coordinator of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase One (ATASP-1), Adani-Omor Staple Crops Processing Zone, Mr, Romanus Egba has charged farmers to share knowledge gained on Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) with their colleagues to enhance food productivity.

Egba made the call on Tuesday while addressing participants at the 2023 edition of preseason refresher training of women and youths on Good Agronomic Practices on Cassava, Rice and Sorghum organized by ATASP-1 in conjunction with the Enugu State Agricultural Development Program (ENADEP) in Enugu.
The ZPC who also encouraged the participants to work closely with ATASP-1 extension agents for greater results, stressed in his welcome address that those selected for the training were knowledgeable enough such that when they learn something new, they go back to their various places and share the knowledge with others.

“So, don’t keep the Good Agronomic Practices learned here to yourselves so that your production will be higher than others in your localities. The only way you can help us is by disseminating the information and knowledge gained from this training, through farmer-to-farmer contact”.

According to him, the training was packaged to prepare farmers for the new farming season. “We have rain early this year, that is why we are starting early. Ordinarily, we usually start the new farming season in April but the rains came earlier during the month of March. So, we want to prepare our farmers on how to use GAPs to increase yields.

That is also why we are discussing the issue of climate change in this training so that our farmers will understand the changing weather patterns and how to adapt to it through smart agriculture”, he adds.
The Program Manager, ENADEP, Dr Ogbonna Onyeisi, who delivered lecture on Climate Change and Smart Agriculture, urged participants to cue into the efforts of ATASP-1 and ENADEP by embracing smart agriculture. According to him, even though, most farmers still rely heavily on inorganic fertlizers to increase yields, there was also the need to move towards organic fertilise.

“When we talk about smart agriculture, we are referring to anything we can do to reduce soil and environmental degradation. It’s obvious that synthetic fertiliser is detrimental to the soil due to its hazardous chemical content, that is why we are preaching about adoption of organic fertiliser. We are also partnering with companies and organization in promotion of organic fertiliser.

“The truth is that organic fertiliser is costlier than synthetic fertiliser but we are looking for ways to make it available for farmers, maybe through government incentives. We believe that once farmers experiment on organic fertiliser application and see the results, they will embrace it, no matter the cost”, he adds.
Mr. Mike Ezeugwu, Director of Technical Services, ENADEP also lectured participants on GAPs in Cassava and Rice while Mr. Emmanuel Ude, Zonal Outreach Specialist, ATASP-1 Adani-Omor zone delivered lecture on GAPs in Sorghum. Nze Boniface Eze, Director Extension Services, ENADEP also taught participants role of Extension Services in Agricultural Development.

The program which took place at the Center for Entrepreneurial Creativity, Enugu, was equally attended by the Zonal Gender and Social Development Specialist (ZGSDS), Mr. Chinedu Ugwuta and the Zonal Agribusiness Specialist, Chinelo Obiefuna, as well as other top directors and staff of ENADEP.