The Agriculture department at the South Dayi District Assembly is responsible for the promotion of agriculture development within the District. It has over the years provided innovative ways to help farmers and also promote farming activities in the municipality.
SERVICES OF THE DEPARTMENT
The Services of the department include; to advise the district assembly on matters of agriculture, lead the collection of data for analysis on cost effective farming enterprises, assist in developing warning systems on animal diseases, facilitate the development of programs to establish close linkage between the various subsectors in the district and promote investment in Agriculture by assisting to identify and prepare pre-visibility report.
The department operates within six main objectives. These include; ensuring food security, increasing growth in income for all stakeholders involved in agriculture activities, helping farmers produce both for the local and the international market, to help promote science and technology in farming activities to ensure that the environment is protected.
The department is also involved in the establishment of farm lands within the community. Currently, the department has found some lands along the Moto-way, aviation and also areas under the High tension to help supplement the farm lands available in the municipality. These lands would help promote agriculture activities within the community.
Extension Services
Extension service delivery is also one of the major activities embarked upon by the department. It provides technical experts who help to educate farmers on how to engage in best farming practices, example is the fallout of the army worm infestation.
The department in collaboration with the farmers have managed to control its spread from about 116ha in 2017 to about 19.6ha in 2018 through the provision of Chemical and some technical know-how on how to fight the spread.
The extension service is also extended to provide animal health service delivery to farmers. The department also helps provide experts who deliver healthcare services for livestock farmers. These officers examine the animals to make sure that they are healthy.
Planting for Food & Jobs
The department is also benefiting from the government’s flagship program,” Planting for Food and Jobs”. Through government’s intervention, the department is able to supply quality seeds for the farmers through the municipality. The government also subsidies fertilizers for framers so that they can also buy at very affordable rates.
Under the planting for food and jobs program, 189 farmers were registered in 2017 and in 2018, 244 farmers have been registered so far. Target area to be cultivated this year is about 70.8 ha which is a massive improvement of that of 48.9ha in 2017. This year, about 91 farmers have also benefited from improved seed supply, and 321 farmer have benefited from fertilizer compos.
Through the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo), government is also employing more extension officers who are going to help in the training of some farmers on profitable and safe farming practice. The government has also brought the e-extension service which also help us in the registration of farmers within the municipality. This innovation has helped the department in the creation of an accurate database which also helps in effective planning.
Aqua-culture
The Assembly through the department of Agriculture is preparing to take charge of about 22 water bodies to help in the promotion of aqua-culture in the municipality. These farms will serve as exhibition centers for individuals who want to engage in the cultivation and harvesting of fishes to learn how to cultivate fishes. This is to try and shift agricultural activities from the lands to the river bodies.
Backyard Farming
The Assembly is also embarking on a campaign to promote backyard farming. The department is responsible for the execution of this project. Through the help of extension officers, the department has made it a point to encourage individuals within the municipality to create small farms in their backyard for domestic consumption. The department is also planning to promote catfish rearing within various households.