AGRICULTURAL NEWS - This was according to Paul Winters, officer-in-charge of the Strategy and Knowledge Department, and director of the Research and Impact Assessment Division, at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Winters was speaking at the recent launch of the Rural Development Report 2016 in Pretoria.
Winters said that in some regions of Nigeria, the adoption of technology by smallholders had resulted in an increase in dairy cows’ milk yields from 4l/day to 12l/day. He added that increased production resulted in more taxes derived from rural communities, and that smallholders would be better able to repay their debts to lending institutions.
Winters also said that private sector investment was important to assist with technology uptake, and that access to respective value chains was crucial.