By Grace Samuel
Stakeholders in the agriculture sector in Gombe State have raised alarms over the acute shortage of agricultural extension workers, which they say is threatening food security.
With only 50 extension workers, including four female and 46 male, serving the entire state, stakeholders are urging the government to recruit more extension workers to mitigate the effects of food insecurity.
The stakeholders, including the Hope Foundation for the Lonely (HFL), Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), and the Gombe State House of Assembly, made their submissions during the dissemination of a community scorecard on smallholder women farmers’ access to extension services in the state.
According to them, the shortage of extension workers has directly affected the quality of farming activities and food productivity in the state, with many smallholder women farmers lacking access to government extension services.
They warned that if the state continues with the current number of extension workers, efforts to achieve food security for the state and country will be further threatened.
The state government has acknowledged the challenge and has approved the recruitment of 500 extension workers to provide extension services to farmers.
However, stakeholders are urging the government to implement the recruitment process quickly to address the manpower gap.