Don urges FG to equip plantain farmers to boost productio

 Prof. Adeolu Ayanwale, Department of Agricultural Economics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun, has urged the Federal Government to equip plantain farmers to boost their production.
Ayanwale made the call at a forum for Agricultural Research in Africa with the theme: "Plantain Innovation Cluster" held at the Conference Centre, OAU, Ile-Ife, on Wednesday.
He said the forum was organised to facilitate the interaction between the stakeholders and government for value chain in plantain farming.
He said that the forum should be able to fashion out ways of improving the values and the benefits of the produce.
Ayanwale admonished stakeholders to key into agricultural technology in order to enhance mass production of plantain.
He also appealed to farmers to focus more on plantain farming.
The don noted that the forum would sensitise farmers on how to boost their production and income.
"Plantain is no longer a waste product as it used to be, however, it has become an income sustainable product," he said.
In his contributions, Dr Sunday Akinyemi, the Director, National Horticultural Research Institute, Jericho, Ibadan, charged the stakeholders not to destroy plantain trees any more.
Akinyemi added that plantain as cash crop and sustainable agricultural produce could be used to improve the nation’s economy.
He reiterated that government should assist processors and the users to organise a viable market for plantain and its products.

Akinyemi opined that if the government could focus on plantain and banana crops by empowering youths and encouraging farmers, it would also serve as job opportunities.
One of the participants, Mr Yemi Ogungbule, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), suggested that there should be a reservoir for the continuous farming of plantain whenever there is a climate change.
Ogungbule applauded the organisers of the forum for sensitising farmers to the importance of the plantain/banana farming.
He appealed to government at all levels to provide an enabling environment for the mass production of the crop. 

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