By Sunday Durven/Simon Obekpa
In an effort to boost agricultural productivity in Benue State, the Soyabean and Sesame Farmers Association paid a courtesy visit to the RMRDC Office in Makurdi recently, to discuss the performance of improved sesame seed varieties distributed to them in 2022 and to request for additional seedlings for the 2024 farming season.
The team was led by the Chairmen of the Soybean and Sesame Farmers Association of Benue state Messrs Shina Peters and Charles Lordye who thanked RMRDC for providing improved variety seedling of sesame and Soyabean to farmers in 2022. They said the variety withstood the region challenging climate and soil conditions.
Mr. Shina who further spoke on behalf of the farmers, expressed satisfaction with the growth of the improved sesame seed variety provided by RMRDC in the past . He observed that the seedling did well in many places including Gboko but only failed to produce fruits in a few areas such as Guma Local Government Area.
He urged the Council to use her expertise to research on why it failed to produce in some regions.
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He explained that the farming seasons are here again and want to use the medium of their visit to ask for more improved variety seedlings of soybean and sesame to boost productivity of the products in the state and Nigerian at large considering the high demand of both crops.
They also said the security situation in the state has improved thereby enabling more farmers to return to their localities and resume agricultural activities.
Mr. Charles explained that currently seed variety are scarce and no longer sufficient to meet the demand of the farmers. He therefore pleaded with RMRDC to support in providing seedlings that can guarantee high yield and better resistance to pests and diseases.
The RMRDC State Coordinator Mrs. Iveren J Abel-Ugbir, welcomed the farmers and stated that their requests will be communicated to the Director General, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso. She said the current DG is committed to agricultural growth and development ensuring there is a boom in the sector. But wants a win-win partnership situation that produces tangible results.
