The Wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has disbursed seventy million naira to 140 women farmers in the North West Region of Nigeria.
Twenty women in agriculture from each of the seven states in the zone went home with N500,000 per person, disbursed under the Renewed Hope Initiative Women Agricultural Support Programme of the First Lady, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Similarly, she disbursed N100,000 each to 100 persons living with disabilities in the region. States in the zone comprise Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
At the ceremony in Birnin Kebbi this Tuesday, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said the maiden edition of the scheme was launched in February this year in Imo state, aimed at encouraging women farmers to grow more food in line with the agricultural agenda of the Tinubu administration.
Represented by the Wife of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Fatima Tajuddeen Abbas, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, affirmed her commitment to energizing women in agriculture to improve production including animal husbandry.
“Agriculture plays a pivotal role in achieving sustainable development and food security”, she emphasizes
“Consequently, we are introducing the ‘Every Home a Garden’ competition to encourage each Nigerian woman to cultivate a garden at home to feed the family and share with neighbours, we want to see food on every table”, Senator Oluremi added.
The First Lady gave glad tidings that the winner of the competition would pocket 20 million Naira star prize.
In addition, she spoke about plans to introduce the formation of the Young Farmers Club in primary and secondary Schools nationwide to encourage farming awareness among pupils and students towards self-sufficiency.
“Schools with the best farms will be identified and rewarded”, she announced.
The Wife of the Kebbi State Governor, Zainab Nasare Nasir Idris, said in support of the initiative of the First Lady, she has donated a solar-powered water pump to each of the benefitting women farmers from the zone to boost their yields.
She thanked Senator Oluremi Tinubu for her generosity and the choice of Kebbi State to launch the program for the North West Region.
In his remarks, Governor Nasir Idris announced that his administration has expended an enormous amount of money on the procurement of fertilizer, solar and CNG-powered water pumps, and other agricultural inputs that were distributed free to farmers to strengthen agricultural production in the state.
He assured that the government would continue to provide an enabling environment to support the participation of women in agriculture including access to market finance and technology for food security.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the Governor’s wives in the region, commending Senator Oluremi Tinubu for placing a premium on enhancing food and cash crop production in Nigeria.
Highlights of the event include the presentation of cheques to the beneficiaries by the wife of the Speaker, House of Representatives, and homage to the Emir of Gwandu by the wives of the Governors at the Abdullahi Fodio Palace, Birnin Kebbi.
