By Khalid Idris Doya
The Nigerian Institute of Soil Science (NISS) has announced the use of the upgraded NISS-AGRO version 2.0 Mobile Application for Extension Agents and Farmers in the Northeast zone in the institute’s efforts to up build their capacities towards boosting food production.
The Northeast zonal coordinator of the institute, Prof. Saminu Abdulrahman Ibrahim at the institute’s train-the-trainers capacity building in Bauchi yesterday, stressed the need for participants to step down the knowledge they would acquire when the go back to their respective states.
He therefore urged participants of the training to not only carefully listen, but also actively participate in the discussions with a view to assimilate whatever is being discussed or taught during the training so as to effectively step it down to extension workers and farmers across the zone.
Recall that on June 27 the Nigerian Institute of Soil Science (NISS) launched first new Agro Mobile Application to help the farmers to know their soil status and to promote the agricultural production in northeast and Nigeria at large.
Saminu said "Our hope is that the people that are going to undergo this training, because it is going to be a step-down training, would listen properly and assimilate whatever is being discussed. And not only sit-down and listen, but also participate because where we are now, was as a result of their intervention and contributions from the last meeting which was what helped to upgrade this new version”.
Prof. Ibrahim who was a one-time vice chancellor of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi said that their participation in the training would enable them bring inputs that is going to lead to new better version that could be called in the future for its application.
“It needs to be transmitted down to their colleagues in the industry of extension, it is very important for them to coordinate and get them this opportunity. And also to tell them how to download this application (2.0) so that they could understand it”.
He stressed the need for the participants to also make their own inputs towards the improvement of the later version that would be coming up, and help the farmers benefit from the current application, revealing that the application has English and three other Nigerian languages for easy interactions.
Professor Saminu Abdulrahman Ibrahim disclosed that the NISS-Agro Software as an application in the google store that could be downloaded, saying the innovation is very good that can benefit scientists, farmers, policy makers, marketers, and so forth, describing it as multi-purpose application.
He said that one of the mandates of the institute is the promotion of agriculture generally through the provision of services.
Speaking earlier, the Program Manager of the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BASADP), Ja’afar Abubakar Ilelah said that his organization is in need of the mobile application to assist the ADP in disseminating agricultural information to the farmers, and getting some issues from the farmers back to the research institute.
He explained that the BASDP serves as a link between the farmers and the research institute, adding “The World is changing, we going digital, so we equally have to change. So our extension agents would be using the application in doing our mandate as extension service delivery agents, so it is very important to the implementation of our mandate”.
Alhaji Ja’afar Ilelah expressed confidence on the ability of the extension agents in stepping down new technologies to the understanding of farmers, and appreciated the NISS for not only building the capacity of extension agents and farmers, but also for supporting the ADPs in the Northeast zone.
Ilelah commended, “I don’t think if there is any institute that is organizing series of capacity building than Nigerian Institute of Soil Science.
He expressed the belief that using the new application would solve the vacancy existing between farmer extension ratio in all the states of the federation, and commended NISS for the efforts for coming up with the new application geared to promote agricultural production and marketing.
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