Food Safety: Mercy Corps lunches Feed the future Nigeria Project, inaugurates Agrochemicals safety ambassadors in North East

The Adamawa state commissioner of Agriculture Alhaji Umar Iya Daware has lauded the effort of an NGO Mercy Corps Feed the future Nigeria Rural resilience activity for it’s stride in ensuring food safety in Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe and Borno States.

Alhaji Umar Iya Daware made the commendation during the launch of a programme, Agrochemicals safety ambassadors by Feed the future Nigeria Rural resilience activity funded by United States agency for international development and implemented by Mercy Corps with support from save the children, IFDC held at American University of Nigeria AUN hotel Yola in Adamawa state.

He explained that the use of Agrochemicals has become inevitable considering the competition between pests and human beings which reduces from yields at the harvest time.

Alh. Iya Daware acknowledge the step taken by Mercy Corps describing it as timely, pointing out that it will stem the tide of wrong application of pesticides as well as make the environment safe, and reducing intake of chemical contained in from produce.

The commissioner added that such awareness activities will reduce exposure the harmful chemicals by farmers and spray service providers while tackling improper use and poor knowledge about pesticides handling during spray.

While congratulating the Agrochemicals safety ambassadors, Alhaji Umar Iya Daware appealed to them to ensure they put into practice what they learnt and reiterated Adamawa State Governments support to the organization.

In his welcome address, the acting deputy chief of party of Mercy Corps ,Mr Raymond Abogonye said after assessments on the negative impact of the Agrochemicals on farmers and contaminated food people consume , hence the need for the launched of the safety ambassadors to create awareness among Agrochemicals dealers, extension agents and farmers on dangers, effects and proper use of the Agrochemicals.

Mr Abogonye explained that the objective of the programme is to have on ground ambassadors that can represent the organization at the grassroots to create awareness and ensure that farmers buy agro products from the right dealers.

He further said the programme is designed to reach More than ninety thousand households with expanded impact of five hundred and forty thousand individual farmers in the North East pointing out that there are between fifteen and twenty agro dealers in each political ward and each of these to reach at least fifty farmers across the four States of Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe and Borno.

Giving brief update on the safe use of the Agrochemicals, Doctor Joseph Kaltungo who commended Mercy Corps for U-Agriculture in the North East said ,the minimum qualification of any person that should apply Agrochemicals is secondary School certificate such that he or she can read the guiding instructions.

Some participants at the forum, William Saura, Benjamin from Gombe, Mohammed Babaiya,Justina Naptali from Adamawa,Kabiru Mohammed and Mohammed Umar from Yobe separately thanked the NGO for the knowledge impacted to them and promised to enlighten farmers.

There were Goodwill messages from the permanent secretary state ministry of Agriculture and animal husbandry, Gombe state Barrister Obel Yaji , programme managers of Agricultural development agency of Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe and Borno States.

Highlights of the launch of the Agrochemicals safety ambassadors programme was a planing session on how to step down the awareness in the various states as well as launching of the Agrochemicals safety ambassadors equipment.