The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security in Ogun State, Mr Bolu Owotomo, has urged farmers in the State to take advantage of the Ogun State Farmers Information Management System (OGFIMS) to enhance their productivity and greater crop yields.
Owotomo, wh spoke on Friday – yesterday, February 21 – in Abeokuta, the State capital, at a training programme on the operations of OGFIMS, organised by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, explained that OGFIMS is a digital platform designed to improve farmers productivity and overall livelihood.
He highlighted the significance of the platform, saying OGFIMS aligns with the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun’s programme of empowering farmers by providing access to vital agricultural information and reducing post-harvest losses.
“The platform will also help in connecting farmers with extension workers and potential markets.
“This e-platform will enable farmers to showcase and market their produce online, thereby boosting their income,” Owotomo said, emphasising the need to take the training down to grassroot farmers, in order to ensure widespread adoption of the platform.
The Commissioner, however, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to leveraging technology to enhance the agriculture sector and improve the livelihood of farmers across the State.
Also speaking, Dr. Leva Kumar, Team Lead, IITA Consultancy Service for OGFIMS project, explained that the training was designed to equip key officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security with relevant information and skills in agricultural practice.
“The training will equally benefit staff of Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP) Agric team, and the Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (OGADEP),” Kumar said.
“They will get the necessary skills to use digital tools, such as e-marketing, e-extension and weather advisory services on the OGFIMS platform.”
“The trained officers will in turn pass the knowledge to other officers and help in ensuring the effective utilisation of the platform,” Kumar, who is also Head of the Germplasm Health Unit and Virology at IITA, said.
The Project Manager, OGSTEP Agric, Mrs Oluseyi Olugbire, enthusing about the training’s engaging nature, said feedback from the training would be used to improve the platform and working groups would be set up to oversee key areas such as e-extension, e-marketing, communication, and administration.
“OGFIMS offers several benefits which include a mobile app with real-time feedback functionality, self-registration for farmers and other value chain actors.
“Other benefits are access to critical agricultural information, a market place to facilitate direct patronage for farmers and other value chain actors,” Olugbire said.
Speaking on behalf of other participants, Hon. Abiola Oladayo, Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and the OGSTEP ICT Officer, Miss Bukola Lawal, commended the initiative, pledging to step down the training for wider reach.
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