The Federal Government has completed the training of 774 extension workers in the use of modern technologies in delivering extension services in the agricultural sector of the economy under its N-Power programme.

The Director-General, National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services, Prof. Mohammed Othman, stated in a report on the programme.

Othman, whose agency was responsible for the training programme tagged: ‘Agro Master Trainers’, said the trainees were drawn from all the local government areas in the country.

He said the exercise, which is part of the Federal Government’s Agricultural Development Plan being executed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, resulted in the training of 774 extension personnel to work as master trainers for the 30,000 youths engaged under the N-Power Agro Programme.

The NAERLS boss explained that the goal of the programme was to create jobs as well as improve extension and advisory services for sustainable agricultural development in the country.

Othman stated, “The agricultural sector is one of the critical sectors in the first phase of the N-Power programme because it is capable of employing more than half of the nation’s unemployed graduates in the areas of farming, livestock and fisheries, diary production and advisory services delivery.

“Many of the participants are optimistic that the N-Power programme will not only create employment opportunities, but also prepare Nigeria for international outsourcing where young Nigerians can export their products and attract foreign investments that will eventually sustain the economy.

“This is because the training was not only about building the capacity of unemployed graduates for employment as agricultural extension support service providers, but also about empowering senior extension personnel with new effective extension methodologies to enable them to train 100,000 unemployed graduates for agricultural extension service delivery.”