(Friday, 30 August 2013, Issue)
More than fifty agricultural extension staff posted within the West Coast Region recently concluded a four-day refresher training at the Regional Education office in Brikama, West Coast Region.
The refresher training, organised through the regional agricultural directorate in the West Coast Region, was funded by the Livestock and Horticultural Development Project (LHDP) through the support of IFAD.
The refresher training, an annual activity for agricultural extension staff, is meant to build their capacity on eight thematic areas.
The areas covered included vegetables and fruit production, horticulture practical bed demarcation, nursery bed preparation and transplanting, plant protection, pig production poultry and small ruminant production, practical demonstration of vaccination of birds, extension methods, and sustainability.
In his welcome speech, the regional agricultural director for West Coast Region, Ousman Jammeh, thanked the participants for attending the training.
He further stressed that the project has been engaging in a series of activities geared towards improving production and productivity of farmers in the country.
He noted that to better equip the extension workers and farmers as well as to increase agricultural production and productivity and marketing, the LHDP with the support of IFAD came up with the refresher training for extension staff and farmers.
Mr Jammeh further urged the participants that at the end of the four-day training they should be in a better position to put their skills and knowledge into practice.
He hailed the LHDP for funding the training through IFAD.
In his official opening statement, the governor of West Coast Region, Alhagie Lamin Sanneh, expressed delight to be associated with the refresher training.
He expressed hope that the training would help to refresh the minds of the participants on the best practices at work.
He noted that the role of extension workers is key in the development of agriculture as they are expected to guide the farmers to improve their crop production.
The training will equip the extension workers to come up with new innovation and technology that will guide them to lead the farmers for a better yield at the farm level, the governor said.
