The Delta State Government on Wednesday underscored the importance of Information Communication and Technology in addressing challenges in the state’s agricultural sector.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Val Arenyeke, made the observation in Asaba, during an ICT training workshop organised for extension and area field officers in Delta North Zone.

Mr Arenyeke said that the transition committee set up earlier by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, to chart the course of the administration identified specific challenges facing the ministry.

He listed the challenges to include lack of proper planning and target implementation; lack of soil mapping for farmlands across the state, which is a baseline for effective commercial farming.

He also noted that poor data collation and lack of agricultural mapping in the state which had made intervention support to farmers ineffective among others were also part of the challenges.

“In this present age of globalisation, there is the need to tackle identified issues differently, if we must continue to offer quality services,” he said.

The commissioner noted that the identified challenges were the reason for organising the ICT management training.

He said that the resource persons from the Applied-Tech Consultant, a leading ICT training outfit with special bias in the intersection between agriculture and business, were carefully selected for their expertise to carry out the training workshop.

The commissioner lauded the state governor for making the training a reality.

According to him, the training is a testament to the fact that Mr Oborevwori is not only an achiever in the provision of infrastructure for which he were recently accorded national recognitions recently, but also a champion of human capital Dmdevelopment.

He charged participants to be fully active during the training, saying that the ministry would expect a level of proficiency from them to become agents of change.

Earlier, the Supervising Permanent Secretary, Augustine Oghoro, said that the training would play an important role in networking, data collation, analysis and documentation of farmers, farm inputs and other agriculture related products.

He said that the training would improve the services of the ministry for accountability and transparency.

Mr Oghoro commended the governor for his foresight in approving the capacity building for the extension and area field officers in the state.

On their part, participants expressed optimism that the training would enhance their effectiveness in carrying out their duties.

The training is the first phase among other phases approved for the sector by the Delta State Government. (NAN)