NEPAD Embarks On Agro Connect Programme In Rivers

The Special Adviser to the Rivers State Governor on New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD), Dr Tex Wariboko, says the office has embarked on a project called “Agro Connect”  to offer opportunities for young persons to appreciate and engage in agriculture.

Dr Wariboko stated this last week in a chat with newsmen at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, shortly before his departure to Abuja on official assignment.

The Special Adviser, who is also the state coordinator of NEPAD, explained that NEPAD had been looking at new ways of doing things in the agriculture sector, particularly for students from primary to secondary school level to do their practicals.

He said Agro-Connect affords students the opportunity to have school farms with organisation supporting them to establish such farms from the beginning to enable them learn farming alongside other subjects.

Dr Wariboko, who hinted that the state NEPAD intervened in the campaign for HIV/AIDS in the state with collaboration of state Action Committee on HIV/AIDS (SACA),  stressing that HIV/AIDS awareness campaign was recently held in conjunction with state University of Science and Technology Port Harcourt.

“In the area of Healthcare, “we are partnering with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and other companies to provide training for midwives in the state,” Dr Wariboko said.

According to him, under the education mandate, “we are reaching out to schools and we have kicked off one million text books distribution for Rivers schools in partnership with a major book organisation called “Book for Africa” to give to the schools for free.

The state NEPAD Coordinator, explained that the condition for benefiting is the availability of a library that must be accessible to the students, noting  that the internet cannot replace hard copy books since knowledge is power.

On legacy, the Special Adviser said “we want to make sure we build an institution which Governor Amaechi introduced in the state and collectively  implement the programmes of NEPAD that would outlive the present administration.