{"id":2573,"date":"2026-07-29T16:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2573"},"modified":"2026-07-29T16:33:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:33:01","slug":"fg-edo-government-launch-agricultural-empowerment-programme-to-boost-food-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2573","title":{"rendered":"FG, Edo Government Launch Agricultural Empowerment Programme to Boost Food Production"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By Peace Osemeka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Federal Government, in collaboration with the Edo State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has launched an agricultural empowerment programme aimed at increasing food production, strengthening food security and improving the livelihoods of farmers across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The programme, launched on July 20, 2026, brought together government officials, agricultural experts, farmers, students and cooperative societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking at the event, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, described agriculture as the backbone of Nigeria&#8217;s economy. He said the initiative would provide farmers with improved seedlings, fertilizers, mechanized farming equipment, irrigation facilities and access to affordable loans to boost agricultural productivity and reduce hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Edo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Amb. Dr. Jerry Uwangue, who represented the state governor, said the programme would also provide training in modern farming techniques, climate-smart agriculture, pest control and proper crop management. He added that extension officers would regularly visit farming communities to educate farmers on improved agricultural practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Agricultural experts at the launch encouraged farmers to embrace mechanized farming, improved irrigation systems and better storage methods to reduce post-harvest losses and improve crop yields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several farmers welcomed the initiative, noting that the rising cost of farm inputs had made farming increasingly challenging. One beneficiary said the provision of improved seeds, fertilizers and financial support would enable him to expand his farm and increase food production during the planting season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Women and youth groups also commended the programme, describing it as an opportunity to encourage greater participation in agriculture. They urged the government to ensure that the support reaches genuine farmers and is sustained beyond the current farming season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The event featured exhibitions of agricultural products, including rice, cassava, maize, vegetables, poultry, fish and processed food items. Modern farm machinery was also displayed, while financial institutions introduced loan schemes designed to support farmers and agribusiness owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stakeholders concluded that sustained investment in agriculture would create employment opportunities, promote rural development, strengthen the nation&#8217;s economy and enhance long-term food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The programme concluded with the distribution of farm inputs to selected beneficiaries, marking the official commencement of the agricultural empowerment initiative across Edo State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Peace Osemeka The Federal Government, in collaboration with the Edo State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has launched an agricultural empowerment programme aimed at increasing food production, strengthening food security and improving the livelihoods of farmers across the state. The programme, launched on July 20, 2026, brought together government officials, agricultural experts, farmers, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":9,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[467,328,696,695],"class_list":["post-2573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trendingnews","tag-edo","tag-empowerment","tag-fg","tag-food-production"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2573"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2575,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573\/revisions\/2575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}