The Task Force Team to the South-South Joint World Bank/Federal Government Supervision Mission on Fadama 111 Project has charged communities in Cross River to ensure safety of facilities in their areas.
The team leader, Mr. Abimbola Adubi, said this on Tuesday in Calabar while unveiling the Fadama Knowledge Services Information Centre.
He said the call had become necessary in order to sustain the facilities and ensure optimum use of the facilities for the good of the people.
He said that the host local government areas also had the responsibility of contributing to the maintenance and safety of the facilities, adding that they were the closest to the people at the grass roots.
“We want the local government areas to be part of our projects in terms of what they can offer, especially maintenance of the facilities.
“We also want the youths to see the centre as theirs by volunteering to safeguard this facility and the community also should be at alert,” he said.
According to him, Calabar centre is one of the four knowledge centres meant to connect farmers to the Internet, adding that this was the current practice across the world.
He also disclosed that the Japanese government was funding the project, which was at the pilot stage with other centres in Yobe, Sokoto and Lagos states.
Adubi said that by the inauguration of the centre, the World Bank had opened the window of opportunities to the farmers.
He said, “With this centre, we have opened the whole world for farmers. Our interest is to see how Internet can work here to reach out to all farmers in Cross River and the whole of the South-South.
“When fully equipped, it will serve as farmers radio station where news on anything concerning farming and farmers will be broadcast.”
The State Project Coordinator, Mr. Bassey Elemi, said that the project cost over N5.6m.
The centre has modern computer facilities.