The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, said the ministry will continue to partner with the media on the discharge of its activities.
Umakhihe said this at a one -day workshop organised by the Department of Information for the Association of Agriculture Correspondents in Abuja.
The theme of the workshop is “Deepening the Understanding of Activities and Programmes of the Ministry”.
Umakhihe was represented by Mr Daniel Udo, Director, Department of Rural Development, ministry of Agriculture.
He commended the association for its positive reportage of the ministry’s events activities over the years.
” You have publicised the activities and programmes of the Ministry. Indeed you have been a strong partner and good ally of the Ministry.
“The ministry has enjoyed your overwhelming support and at every critical moment. The ministry will continue to partner with you in the discharge of its mandate,” he said.
Umakhihe said it was in the spirit of the partnership and the need to take the cordial relationship to a higher level that the ministry organised the workshop.
The permanent secretary said the workshop was aimed at widening the scope of the correspondents` knowledge of activities and operations of the ministry.
He said that policies and programmes have been articulated on agriculture for the country to drive some of the agricultural value chains.
Umakhihe expressed optimism that at the end of the workshop, quality and more positive reports would take media space in coming days and weeks with in- depth analysis.
Earlier, the Director of Information in the ministry, Dr Joel Oruche, said the workshop was timely because emphasis was on the diversification of the country’s economy.
” As patriotic members of the fourth estate of the realm, we should be at the vanguard of the current crusade that “we produce what we eat and eat what we produce”.
” In other words, we should encourage Nigerians through positive highlights of the activities of Federal Ministry of Agriculture And Rural Development to take to farming,” he said.
Oruche said that the media had contributed immensely to the development of the country.
” As a body (Agric Correspondents) you have done so much to publicise activities of the ministry and continues to do so,” he said.