The National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) has embarked on the training of no fewer than 200 youths and women on modern farming technologies and good agricultural practices in plantain and pumpkin farming.
The Executive Director of NIHORT, Dr. Attanda Mohammed Lawal, while addressing participants at the program, stated that the aim of the training is to enhance the Federal Government’s efforts and focus on agriculture as a strong driver of diversifying the country’s economy.
The two-day empowerment training program had participants drawn from different communities, including Agbede town in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, where beneficiaries were trained to incorporate recent scientific advances into the production of plantains and pumpkins.
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Lawal, who was represented at the event by Mr. Fagbangbe Stephen Olugbenga, acting Head, Human Resources, NIHORT, highlighted that plantain is a low-capital agribusiness that is lucrative and suitable for most Nigerian soil, while telfairia (pumpkin) is an important leaf and seed vegetable with economic importance and high demand in the country.
He added that plantains are not just a food crop but an industrial raw material for the food and beverage industry for making baby foods, biscuits, bread, and cakes, while boasting that the training will promote food security, employment opportunities, wealth creation, household income, and wealth.
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“Nigeria has a comparative advantage in plantain production and is one of the major producers of plantain in the world. The country ranked fifth in plantain production in the world, and a production figure of 3,077,159 metric tons was obtained in 2020 (FAO Statistics)”.
Telfairia, on the other hand, is an important leaf and seed vegetable of great economic importance; it is in high demand and widely consumed in Nigeria. The leaf is of high nutritional, medicinal, and industrial value and is rich in protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins. There is a high prospect in the production of Telfairia and marketing within and outside Nigeria. He said
