The Permanent Secretary in the Kogi Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Yusuf Evinavoh, says the state government has committed over N400 million to its commercial agricultural programme.
A statement issued in Lokoja on Wednesday said that Evinavoh made the disclosure at the opening of a weeklong training for tractor operators and mechanics selected from the 21 local government councils in the state.
He said that the programme, which is being financed by the Federal Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the state government, was already yielding the desired results.
Evinavoh said the training was to acquaint the participants with more knowledge on how to maintain 50 tractors and other farming tools newly purchased by the state government.
The permanent secretary said that the objective was to ensure efficient out-put and longer use of the tractors.
Evinavoh charged the participants to ensure that the huge amount invested in acquiring the equipment yielded the maximum benefit for higher food production in the state.
Also, the Director of Engineering Services at the state Agricultural Development Project (ADP), Mr Michael Ayodele, urged the participants to put the training and experience gained during the seminar into practical use.
