BENIN CITY – Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo yesterday urged the farmers to embrace mechanised farming to banish poverty in the rural areas and increase food production.
Oshiomhole made this call in Benin when he received the Senior Course 37 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, at the government house.
He noted that many people were still surviving on peasant agriculture, adding that this mode of farming could not be a solution to eradicating poverty.
He called for the development of land and road infrastructure to woo large-scale farmers to the rural areas.
He also said that the country had no business importing rice when the commodity is being produced locally.
The governor commended the military and other law- enforcement agencies for their roles in protecting lives and properties.
Oshiomhole said it was good that the Armed Forces were placing emphasis on education as well as training and re-training of their personnel.
Earlier, the leader of the team, Maj.–Gen. Kabiru Abdulkarim, said that the team was in the state to study Edo Government’s agriculture, environment, culture, geography and social economy.
Abdulkarim said that the course which runs for 52 weeks would enable the students to check the performances of the state in the areas listed.
He also said that it would enable the students to have a better understanding of the country’s security arrangement, adding that the team comprised 17 Army Officers including five international students.
Others in the team include seven students from the Air Force, 10 from Navy, and one student each from the Federal Road Safety Commission and the State Security Service.
