Kogi Boosts Livestock Sector With Training for 300 Rural Stakeholders

Kogi’s livestock sector is gaining new momentum as 300 key stakeholders completed an intensive training programme designed to strengthen participatory development across rural communities. The initiative, driven by Kogi L-PRES, brought together extension agents, lead farmers, value-chain actors and community service providers from all three senatorial districts.

Source: kogireports

The workshop opened with a strong message from the Commissioner for Livestock Development, Dr. Olufemi Bolarin, who described livestock as a backbone of food security and economic life in the state. He stressed that rural prosperity depends on better support systems, stronger technical capacity and a modern approach to livestock management. According to him, the state is determined to equip frontline workers with the skills required to drive real transformation.

State Project Coordinator Abdulkabir Otaru explained that the programme focused on mainstreaming Participatory Rural Appraisal and Participatory Learning Action tools to help extension workers understand and respond to farmers’ real needs. He noted that the methods would make advisory services more practical and improve technology adoption while promoting Good Animal Husbandry Practices across local clusters.

A recent revalidation exercise, Otaru added, confirmed 32,000 genuine livestock farmers from an initial baseline of 54,000. He said the era of “portfolio farmers” had ended, and the newly trained agents and lead farmers would now cascade knowledge to these verified farmers across 64 livestock clusters. He credited Governor Ahmed Ododo for consistently backing efforts to raise productivity and food security.

Senior officials at the session, including the Managing Director of the Kogi Agricultural Development Project, Dr. Bello Ogirima, underscored the crucial role of extension agents in delivering credible advisory services. They urged participants to embrace collaboration and ensure that the gains from the training translate into measurable improvements on the field.

Participants described the workshop as a timely boost, noting that it would help address long-standing obstacles along the livestock value chain. Resource persons walked them through participatory needs assessment, planning, technology testing and evaluation—steps officials say will anchor more resilient and scalable livestock practices across Kogi State.