By Monday Osayande
In a bid to ensure food security in the Country, the Federal government, for a week, trained no fewer than 150 youths in Telfairia (ugu) and Tomato production at Kwale, Delta State.
National Horticulture Research institute, assisted by a Federal lawmaker, representing Ndokwa/Ukwuani constituency, Hon. Nicholas Ossai, trained the youths from three LGAs of Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West and Ukwani.
The trainees were given the sum of N52,000 each and planting inputs to start the farming business in their locality.
The Executive director, Dr. Abayomi Olaniyan noted that the training covered production, processing, storage of Telfairia and Tomato.
Olaniyan explained that Tomato, being one of the most important as well as the major vegetables grown in the country, is an essential cooking product such as juice, puree, paste, ketchup/sauce, dry slice and others.
He said Tomato remains “a profitable horticultural crop that provides income to farmers and agents involved in its production and marketing”.
According to the NHRI Executive Director, Telfairia is also an important leaf and seed vegetables, with high demand, stressing that the leaf is of high nutritional, medicinal and industrial values, rich in protein, fat, mineral and vitamins.
Chairman of NIHORT Governing board, Major General Mohammed Garba (Rtd), urged the youths to use the training for maximum production to achieve the desire food security in the Country.
Garba hinted that capacity building is necessary for the youths as it afford them the opportunity to be competent in horticultural value chains of various crops to Improve their income.
