A non-governmental organization known as Sharing Education and Learning for Life Foundation has trained over 50 farmers in Bauchi state.
Addressing the participants, Mr. Beji Jibe, Programme Coordinator of the organization said the beneficiaries were trained on smart farming techniques that is environmentally friendly.
According to him, his organization had a couple of years ago decided to include care for the environment as part of its line up programmes, unlike in the past when they only concentrated around peace building, which is the core value of the organization.
He however said, as time goes on, it became very difficult to separate environmental issues from peace building initiatives.
“This is because, somehow, some of the crisis that have bedevilled some of the communities are directly connected to the use of land and how people struggle to get the best out of the land”, he said.
“Therefore, we decided to incorporate care for the environment as part of our activities. Two years ago we organized stakeholder engagement in Bauchi state within the environment sector and we came up with a very beautiful communique”, Mr. Beji stated.
He noted that the aim of the initiative is to strengthen the ways people earn their living, especially farmers.
“Most of our people are farmers, so we decided this time around to incorporate smart agriculture as part of things that we are going to do. How can our people farm in a more sustainable way, in a way that is more eco-friendly, in a a way that is cheaper”, he said.
Mr. Beji who explained that smart agriculture is cheaper than the present way of farming, said that the programme is spread across the Northeast and Plateau state.
The programme coordinator while noting that the training that is ongoing in Bauchi state has been conducted in Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau and Yobe states, said his organization is working closely with Albeit Agro company that has done well in Adamawa and other Northeastern states to revamp agricultural practices of the people.
According to him, the farmers that have been trained have produced organic fertilizer and other technologies to make farming a little bit easier and with more fun for the younger generation.
“We have assembled around fifty farmers here today like we did in other states and we hope that the training engagement is going to broaden their knowledge around smart agriculture”, he said.
Mr. Beji noted that all the participants are going to have direct access to the organization for free consultation as contained in the agreement with the Albeit Agro company.
He commended the Albert Agro company for its willingness to support farmers even after the training session due to its interest in promoting farming activities in Bauchi state.
Mr Beji who regretted that the introduction of chemical products has exposed farm lands to so many environmental hazards, expressed hope that the beneficiaries would revert to the natural way of farming which first came into existence.
He stressed that the introduction of chemical products into the Nigerian farming process has completely devalued farmlands thereby exposing Nigeria to all kinds of environmental hazards, including health hazards.
Mr. Beji who said all the fifty participants belongs to their various farming organizations, pointed out that they are expected to step down the knowledge acquired to other members of their groups.
He stated that materials would be shared to the beneficiaries and there is also an open invitation for continued consultation and support and guidance from Albeit Agro company.
He expressed hope that before the commencement of the farming season the trainees would be able to step the knowledge down to the local communities.
