The Kogi Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project has distributed vital equipment and motorcycles to extension agents and farmers to enhance livestock productivity across the state.
Dr. Olufemi Bolarin, Commissioner for Livestock Development, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement on livestock extension services held on Saturday in Lokoja.
Bolarin said the initiative reflected Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s administration’s commitment to transforming the state’s agricultural sector, promoting food security, and driving rural economic growth.
He urged beneficiaries to use the distributed equipment strictly for livestock value chain development and warned against any commercial or private use.
According to him, agriculture remains central to socio-economic development and job creation, adding that staff welfare must be prioritised to achieve optimal productivity.
Bolarin noted that the distribution exercise and stakeholder engagement were designed to strengthen the livestock sector, enhance food security, and promote sustainable economic growth across the state.
Also speaking, the L-PRES State Project Coordinator, Mr. Abdulkabir Otaru, said the project had adopted digital tools such as KoboTool for real-time data capture in livestock extension and advisory services.
He added that the project had also implemented a Farmer-to-Farmer extension approach in collaboration with the Kogi Agricultural Development Project (ADP) to expand outreach and impact.
Otaru listed the distributed items to include 21 motorcycles for livestock extension agents across the 21 local government areas, 1,000 livestock extension manuals for farmers in 64 livestock value chain clusters, as well as veterinary medical and laboratory equipment, meat inspection kits, and surgical tools.
“These resources were provided to the Department of Veterinary Services to improve animal health, productivity, and food safety,” he explained.
In their separate remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Timothy Ojonah, and the Managing Director of Kogi ADP, Mr. George Ogirima, commended the initiative for its potential to improve livestock productivity.
They cautioned against the inclusion of “ghost farmers” to ensure that genuine beneficiaries receive the support.
A beneficiary, Mr. Daniel Arome, expressed appreciation to the state government and the L-PRES project for the intervention and pledged to make effective use of the items for their intended purposes.
