By Uduak Etukudo
UYO
Not less than 200 Akwa Ibom women and youths on Saturday benefitted from empowerment packages under the Agricultural Support Programme of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), a pet project of the Nigerian First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to kick-start their farms and as well boost already existing ones.
The gesture was in fulfilment of the First Lady’s commitment to fighting food insecurity in the country and making women and youths self-reliant in line with President Tinunbu’s vision and Governor Umo Eno’s ARISE Agenda.
The beneficiaries, who got the empowerment after four days of intensive training on Agricultural Entrepreneurial Practices for Women and Youths in the State, were trained in six different areas of agricultural practices namely: poultry, fish, goat, snail, piggery and stack farming.
Declaring the event open at the Banquet Hall, Akwa Ibom Government House, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom First Lady designate and State coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative, Lady Helen Eno Obareki, saluted Senator Tinubu for her bold and compassionate vision of not just distributing seedlings to farmers but planting their future through her RHI project.
Obareki noted that under the programme, farmers across Nigeria had got the tools, training and support to feed their families, communities and the nation at large, maintaining that the financial grants added would help transform them from subsistence farmers into agro-entrepreneurs, thereby creating wealth, jobs and dignity.
She observed that the empowerment by the Nigerian First Lady went beyond agriculture to restoring confidence in rural communities “and keeping our youths on the land, not in the streets,” adding that it was a true demonstration from the First Lady to the people that hope is not a mere slogan but a seed.
“When a widow receives support to start a poultry farm, when a young graduate chooses fish farming over job hunting, when a rural woman becomes the breadwinner through cassava processing, that is Renewed Hope in action”, she said and appreciated Senator Tinubu for believing in Akwa Ibom farmers and for “investing in our land, our people and our future”.
She also acknowledged the collaboration of the State and Federal Ministries of Agriculture, the team lead of RHI, Mrs Emem Orok, and staff of the Office of the First Lady, Akwa Ibom State who worked tirelessly to ensure that the training and empowerment sessions were successful and charged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the training and packs they received.
Her words: “To the participants and beneficiaries of this initiative, I want to encourage you to take everything that the resource persons have taught you very seriously. Leverage on the topics you have been exposed to and grow your businesses to greatness. On our part, we will set up a monitoring team that will go round to assess what you’re doing”.
The State team lead of the RHI, Orok, said what was witnessed commenced four days back when the team came to Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital, to embark on intensive training on agricultural practices with the aim of giving farmers support to grow their farms to another level and assisting new ones start their own in order to cut down on food shortage and food insecurity in the State.
Orok hoped that with the training, financial assistance and starter packs received, the beneficiaries would improve on their farming methods to achieve greater results, restating that there would be monitoring teams across the three senatorial districts to check the farmers’ progress.
The event featured presentation of papers, titled, “Value Chain Development: Enhancing Income Opportunities for Farmers,” by the manager, Technology Incubation Centre, Uyo, Mrs Iniobong Elshaddai; as well as “Sustainable Farming Practices in Homes and Communities,” by the permanent secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Atim Okoko.
It also witnessed testimonies from the beneficiaries including Ms Grace Etukudo Wilson, a poultry farmer from Eket Local Government Area, who said the training had created so much awareness in areas she never knew before which would help her augment her business and increase productivity.
Etukudo, a physically challenged, was full of praise for Mrs Tinubu for identifying with someone like her and promised to enlighten others who were not opportune to attend the training.
Also, Mrs Paulina Ekpo and Mr Ikpeobong Udo, both fish farmers, as well as Mr Ifiok King, a vegetable farmer from Ekpene Ukpa, Etinan Local Government Area, all commended Senator Tinubu, Governor Umo Eno, Lady Helen Obareki, Mrs Emem Orok and the resource persons for their different roles in impacting their lives and promised to encourage others, especially the youth, not to wait for white-collar jobs that may never come, but to start farming no matter how small, so as to have something to sustain them.
Goodwill messages were received from the commissioner for women affairs and social welfare, Mrs Inibehe Silas Etukudo and her agriculture counterpart, Dr Offiong Offor, represented by the permanent secretary, Okoko; dean of female chairmen and chairman, Nsit Ibom Local Government, Mrs Otobong Aaron; and president of Wives of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (WALGON), Mrs Akaninyene Udo.
Dignitaries who graced the occasion included member representing Uruan State Constituency, Dr Itorobong Etim; commissioner for humanitarian affairs, Princess Emem Ibanga; wife of the secretary to the state government, Dr Inemesit Uwah; and special adviser, Bureau of Cooperative and Rural Development, Mrs Alice Ekpenyong.
Others were a former University of Uyo vice chancellor, Professor Comfort Ekpo; wife of former state governor, Mrs Funmi Idongesit Nkanga; permanent secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs Margaret Edem; as well as wives of commissioners.
Items donated to the farmers were day-old chicks, fingerlings, goats, piglets, feed for the animals, yam seedlings, pepper, plastic tanks for rearing fish, farm implements such as wheelbarrows, rakes, weeding hoes, watering cans and spade among others.
High point of the event was the presentation of cash grants and start-up packs to the farmers and other beneficiaries including members of Young Farmers Club from 10 schools across the three senatorial districts of the State, who were given farm implements for their schools.
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