CENTRE TO PARTNER L-PRES FOR CAPACITY BUILDING, RESEARCH

The TETFund Centre of Excellence in Integrated Farming System, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi has what it takes to provide capacity building and to the Bauchi State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES).

The Director of the Centre, Dr. Kolawole Richard made the assertion while receiving L-PRES staff who were at the Centre on 27th June, 2022 for discussions on areas of possible collaboration.

Dr. Richard said the Centre chose to focus on agriculture because it was the economic strength of the Northeast subregion, adding that it was ready to assist the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project in the areas of equipment fabrication and research.

Earlier speaking, the Desk Officer, L-PRES, Dr. Rose Danladi Idi said they were at the Centre to have an interface and explore areas of collaboration, saying that the project’s activities centre around improving productivity of livestock; promoting sedentarisation; resuscitating grazing reserves and improving commercialisation of livestock.

She said since the commencement of L-PRES which is a World Bank assisted project in 2018, they have intervened in farming activities, feedmills and pasture development areas in Bauchi and Plateau states, stating that they would want the Centre to come in by providing farmers with the needed skills and awareness on the best ways to adopt the improved system of farming.

Contributing, the Deputy Director of the Centre, Dr. Aliyu Gadam told the visitors that the Centre was a zero-waste-focused one, emphasising tha havingt reliable data were key in the consummation of the would-be collaboration.

In his remarks, Head of the Centre’s Project Management Team, Dr. Abdullahi Mohammed said one of the major activities outlined to be undertaken by Centre was the establishment of an Artificial Insemination Centre which would help in the achievement of L-PRES’ objectives of improving productivity of livestock and commercialisation.