Niger Delta
A’Ibom To Train 1,200 Farmers In 2011
Akwa Ibom Government says it is poised to train 1,200 young farmers in 2011 and empower them with micro-credit facilities.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Eno Akpan, announced this in Essien Udim Local Government Area while launching a sensitisation workshop on Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) in the state.
Akpan said that 1,000 women would be trained under the Women Agro-Entrepreneur Development Programme and provided with credit facilities within the year.
He further said that the state government would disburse Nl billion under its Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme to applicants for the expansion of various agricultural ventures.
Akpan said that the RUFIN, which is in its pilot phase, would be implemented in three local government areas Essien Udim, Onna and Itu.
“The goal of RUFIN is to contribute to poverty reduction through the improvement of income, food security and general living conditions of rural poor households.
According to him, the programme targets the rural poor including women, youths and the physically challenged.
“I therefore call on youths, women, the physically challenged as well as the entire good people of Akwa Iborn State to take advantage of these opportunities,” Akpan said.
In his message, the National Programme Coordinator of RUFIN, Mr. Muyiwa Azeez, explained that RUFIN is a collaborative effort among the Federal, some states and local governments with financial assistance from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD).
Azeez, represented by Mrs Lydia Ameh, the Community Development and Gender Specialist, said the programme was aimed at reducing poverty, actualising food security and creating wealth in rural areas.
He said that RUFIN had identified and selected 32 micro-finance banks, 4,000 informal village saving groups, 318 financial cooperative societies and 22 non-bank micro-finance institutions for the programme.
“The selected institutions will be strengthened to improve their services to vulnerable groups such as women, youths and the physically challenged, using trainers from the pool of already identified 71 training service providers (TSPs),” Azeez said.
In his address of welcome, the Chairman of Essien Udim Local Government Area, Mr. Nse Ntuen, urged his people to embrace the programme to better their lot.
Ntuen, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Etido Dan, encouraged the people of the area to embrace agriculture, saying that it could make them rich.
“It is not only in politics that people can grow,” the chairman said.
According to sources, the programme will be implemented through a loan agreement of$27.2 million from IFAD and N400,000 grant from Ford Foundation.
The programme is currently being implemented at the pilot stage in 12 states Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Edo, Imo, Katsina, Nasarawa, Lagos, Oyo and Zamfara and would run for seven years.
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