The Enugu State Government on Thursday said that it had trained 250 farmers in the state on rice production technology to make them more knowledgeable in the cultivation of the crop.
Mr Benjamin Onuze, the Acting Director, Technical Services, Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme (ENADEP), disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.
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Onuze said that rice production technology involved the good agricultural practices, including site selection, planting, harvesting and storage of the produce.
The acting director disclosed that the 250 farmers were trained on the techniques of quality rice production in commercial quantity, adding that the training was conducted between February and September 2019.
Onuze said the state government had established a small portion of land (. 1 hectare as rice demonstration plot) each in three zones in the state, to enable farmers learn effective production of the commodity.
According to the ENADEP official, the plots in the three zones are used to practically demonstrate the technological aspects taught during the training.
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“The demonstration plots, located in three agricultural zones of the state are: Aninri, Eha-Amufu and Adani.
“These zones are used to practically show the farmers what was taught during the training and how best to specialise in rice production,” he said.
Onuze also said that the farmers were supplied with rice for planting, fertiliser and pesticides, free at the training.
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He commended the Federal Government’s political will to close land borders, adding that the development would boost rice cultivation and its availability in Nigeria.
“I commend the government on the border closure, and I encourage the government to sustain the closure, to have enough Nigerian made rice in the country.”
