CEDRO ROYAL TRAINS 400 EBONYI CASSAVA FARMERS ON AKILIMO TOOL

Cedro Royal Multi-ventures, a partner of ACAI/RTB scaling AKILIMO project with headquarters in Abuja trained 400 grassroots cassava farmers on the use of the AKILIMO advisory tool for fertilizer recommendation (FR) and Best Planting Practices and weed management (BPP-WM). During the training, which was held in Abakaliki on the 26th April 2021, the CEO of Cedro Royal, , Mr Fakunle Aremu said that the innovation was meant to increase cassava production with linkages of farmers to the market. The workshop also featured a taking the participants through use of FR and BPP-WM

Aremu described AKILIMO as a digital service that provides tailored fertilizer recommendations to farmers and service providers. He called on trained farmers to pass the knowledge to other farmers for sustainability and food security. “The training of farmers is done to build the capacity of farmers on best practices in sustainable agriculture and also to link farmers’ groups to market, input companies, financial institutions, and continuity in the use of AKILIMO,” Aremu said.

AKILIMO Promoters from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), James Ekele, and Josephine Fasakinbackstopped with Aremu during the training. According to Josephine, “the objective of the recommendation was to show farmers that cassava farming is business and can be more profitable”. James also said “the fertilizer tool recommends six uses, such as type, quality, how and when to apply fertilizer on cassava farming. It also helps them in determining cost benefits; i.e. if it is profitable to use fertilizer or not while the weed management describes how best to prepare a farm and control weeds to achieve maximum yield,”

The founder, Eleanya Foundation and Farmer, Mr. Henry Agha, called on the government at all levels to support farmers to achieve the objectives of the AKILIMO innovation and ensure food security. Mr. Emma Oyim, farmer and Chairman, FADAMA in Afikpo-North Local Government Area, said he had been cultivating cassava out of ignorance. “I am privileged to acquire this new innovation to boost cassava production and hope the program will be carried out to the grassroots for maximum yield,” Oyim said.