E-extension: 300 women, youths benefit from ICT4ag training in Kaduna

By Mustapha Yauri

No fewer than 300 women and youth community-based advisers (CBAs) across 18 local government areas of Kaduna State have been trained on ICT4ag tools towards strengthening access to e-extension services.

A statement issued by the Principal Investigator of the project, Prof. Chris Daudu, on Wednesday in Zaria, said out of the 300 beneficiaries of the training, 200 received Samsung smart phones from the project.

The statement said the participants received training on the use basic mobile applications for agriculture, such as RiceAdvice Tools, ODK, UTM area measurements, Plantex applications and standard data collection procedures.

Daudu said the aim of the initiative was to empower the CBAs and the farmers they serve, increase their resilience, efficiency and provide them with opportunities for digital e-extension services.

He added that distribution of AGRA smart phones was an attempt to empower smallholder farmers to improve their productivity, reduce vulnerability, and increase their e-extension and market resilience in the maize-based system in Kaduna state.

He said through this innovation, around 300,000 farmers were expected to be connected and linked to multimedia apps that would enable them to access business opportunities such as e-buying and selling of commodities.

The statement also quoted the AGRA Kaduna Programme Officer, Dr Esther Ibrahim, as applauding the high turnout of women during the training and described it as a sign of their empowerment.

She also emphasised the importance of the training, stressing that the CBAs are expected to share their knowledge with farmers in their communities.

(NAN)