Women Empowerment: FG to Mechanise Farming, Provide Seedlings

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

In line with renewed efforts to empower women in agricultural production, the federal government has mapped out plans to acquire and deploy mechanised farming equipment to drive its community-based farming initiative, designed to improve the wellbeing of women.

Making this disclosure yesterday during a strategic meeting with community, women and youth leaders, the minister of women affairs, Mrs. Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, stated that the introduction of modernised farming tools would go a long way to avert stress for women who use bare hands for virtually every farming process and also improve production.

The group, which consists of vigilante members and representatives of the Nigeria Police, were drawn from six different communities within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), namely Jikoyi, Galadimawa, Kobi, Kuje, Piagba and Karu.

According to Kennedy-Ohanenye “one of our goals is to save our women from further stress and to provide modern machines that will de-chaff, de-stone and parboil the rice before bagging them for the market.

“Our women have suffered enough and we must change the narrative by migrating from manual to mechanized farming.

“The machines will arrive within the month and we will deploy them immediately after training the women on how to operate them.” 

The minister stated that the arrangement included the procurement of tricycles for women from selected communities in the FCT who would be trained to operate the tricycles, which would be accounted for as more tricycles would be acquired through the same process to empower more women.

She also invited the police to provide security for the women in the course of operating the tricycles.

She added that women would be introduced to high yield potato and rice farming through the provision of seedlings, land with borehole and other irrigation facilities to ensure all-year-round farming exercise with the FCT communities as pilot scheme of the initiative, which would be extended to Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi and other states in the country.

Responding, the Etsu of Jokoyi, Professor Bawa Jetta, commended the minister for her resilience and determination to better the welfare of women and children in Nigeria.

According to Jetta, “with the leadership God has given you, most Nigerian women and the vulnerable children will smile very soon. I have been monitoring your philanthropic activities over the years and was not surprised when you were appointed the Minister of Women Affairs because you fit into this position.”