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The Federal Government began a two-day training for youths and women farmers in Gombe on Tuesday on how to curtail post-harvest losses.
The training is being conducted in collaboration with Gombe State government.
Mrs Monilola Udoh, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Information said the training would expose farmers to innovations on reduction of post-harvest losses.
Udoh said the ministry was leveraging on technologies to assist farmers to reduce post-harvest losses since agriculture was key to Federal Government’s resolve to ensure food security and job creation.
She was represented by the Director of Bio-resources Technology and Innovation Department at the ministry, Mr Isaac Anum.
Udoh said the training sought to bring to participants’ consciousness what post-harvest losses were and how they affected productivity.
It would also teach the appropriate technologies that could be deployed to reduce wastes to the barest minimum.
The permanent secretary described post-harvest losses as the degradation in both quantity and quality of agricultural produce from harvest to consumption.
“Quality losses include those that affect the nutrient/caloric composition, the acceptability, and the edibility of a given product,’’ she said.
Udoh stressed that the ministry was committed to helping farmers and those in the agro-allied sector to curb post-harvest losses and enhance productivity.
In her remarks, Dr Aishatu Maigari, Gombe State’s Commissioner for Science Technology and Innovation noted that 80 per cent of the state’s population was engaged in farming and agriculture-related activities.
She said the training was timely as government was diversifying the economy and investing more in agriculture, human capital development, science, technology and innovation.
She added that Gombe state was also investing in infrastructure provision as contained in its 10-year development agenda.
She called on the participants to leverage on the training to improve their income and cut post-harvest losses in their communities to boost food security in the state and in the country.
Malam Saidu Saleh, a participant who cultivates millet told newsmen that the training would help farmers in the state to minimise losses and increase their incomes.
Saleh commended the federal and Gombe State governments for efforts at ensuring that farmers were exposed to modern technology and innovation aimed at preserving produce.
The theme of the workshop is “Post-harvest technologies: Panacea to agricultural losses.” (NAN)
