From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
As part of efforts to boost agricultural development and job creation, The Federal Government has inaugurated a South West Regional Training Centre, for the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Executive Director of ARMTI, Dr. Olufemi Oladunni, said the new centre is the fourth regional office established by the institute, following others in Bauchi (North East), Kaduna (North West), and Ahoada in Rivers State (South South).
Oladunni explained that the regional offices are designed to decentralize ARMTI’s training programmes, ensuring that the federal government’s initiatives on food security, poverty alleviation, and agribusiness capacity building reach grassroots farmers across the country.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye, described the centre as a significant milestone for the state and the entire South West region.
He commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for empowering ARMTI to bring training and support closer to rural communities, rather than making beneficiaries travel long distances to the institute’s headquarters.
“This is what governance is all about,” the governor’s representative stated.
The Ibadan centre commenced operations with a training session on Farm Business Planning and Development, which participating farmers described as highly impactful.