{"id":242657,"date":"2026-04-29T23:06:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T23:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/life-nd-adp-train-extension-agents-to-strengthen-agricultural-services-in-abia\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T23:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T23:06:03","slug":"life-nd-adp-train-extension-agents-to-strengthen-agricultural-services-in-abia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/life-nd-adp-train-extension-agents-to-strengthen-agricultural-services-in-abia\/","title":{"rendered":"LIFE-ND, ADP Train Extension Agents to Strengthen Agricultural Services in Abia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Abia <\/a>State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze, has urged agricultural extension agents in the state to take capacity-building programmes seriously in order to enhance service delivery and drive food security across communities.<\/p>\n

Dr. Agbaeze made the call while declaring open a two-day technical workshop for extension agents, organised under the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises in the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) Project in partnership with the Abia <\/a>State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n

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He described the training as knowledge-driven and aligned with the policy thrust of the administration of Governor Alex <\/a>Chioma Otti, aimed at strengthening agricultural systems and ensuring food sufficiency in the state.<\/p>\n

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In his remarks, the Programme Manager of Abia <\/a>ADP, Mr. Okoro Nleanya, reiterated that agriculture remains the backbone of the economy and a critical pathway to achieving food security.<\/p>\n

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He, however, lamented the growing challenges faced by farmers, including erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, pest infestations, and rising input costs.<\/p>\n

According to him, addressing these challenges requires a shift toward smarter and more sustainable farming practices.<\/p>\n

He emphasised the strategic role of extension agents as the vital link between research institutions and farmers, noting that the training would equip participants with modern tools, innovative approaches, and effective communication skills.<\/p>\n

Nleanya further explained that the workshop would promote climate-smart agriculture through practices such as agroecology, soil and water conservation, improved seed varieties, and early warning systems to help farmers adapt to climate change.<\/p>\n

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He added that reducing post-harvest losses would improve product quality, enhance nutrition, and boost farmers\u2019 incomes.<\/p>\n

Earlier, the State Coordinator of the LIFE-ND Project, Dr. Rowland Uchenna Onyeizu, said the training was designed to complement the efforts of the ADP in strengthening the knowledge base of extension workers.<\/p>\n

He noted that leveraging their field experience and institutional knowledge would ensure more effective and sustainable service delivery.<\/p>\n

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Onyeizu explained that the workshop would serve both experienced and new extension agents by refreshing existing knowledge and building new capacities required for improved performance.<\/p>\n

He added that the initiative aims to strengthen the entire extension system to better meet the needs of farmers and agribusiness beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

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He also highlighted plans for increased field visits, practical demonstrations, and hands-on support to ensure that knowledge gained is effectively applied at the grassroots level.<\/p>\n

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Also speaking, a resource person from the State Agricultural Business Promotion Office (SAPO), Pastor Godwin Chukwukezie, encouraged participants to translate the knowledge acquired into practical results in their agribusiness activities.<\/p>\n

One of the participants, Mr. Alwell Amarizu, described the workshop as timely, noting that extension agents often face challenges such as inadequate funding, limited training opportunities, lack of access to improved seedlings, and high input costs.<\/p>\n

He called on government to provide incentives, including loan facilities and subsidised machinery, to promote mechanised farming.<\/p>\n

In a related presentation, a Director with the Abia <\/a>ADP, Mrs. Nwugo Ihediwa, who spoke on climate-smart and climate-resilient agriculture, identified erratic rainfall, drought, and poor water management as major factors affecting farmers\u2019 productivity and income.<\/p>\n

She expressed confidence that participants would be better equipped to address these challenges at the end of the workshop.<\/p>\n

By Ebere Tasie and Chijioke Chukwuemeka<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Abia State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze, has urged agricultural extension agents in the state to take capacity-building programmes seriously in order to enhance service delivery and drive food security across communities. Dr. Agbaeze made the call while declaring open a two-day technical workshop for extension agents, organised under the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":242658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[176],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260429-WA0064.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}