The Community-Based
Agricultural and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP) said that it had empowered 33,000 rural women and other vulnerable groups in five states.
The Project Coordinator, Alhaji Ibrahim Arabi,  made this known in an interview with newsmen recently.
Arabi said that the groups were trained in various skills to better their living conditions.
He explained that the project was supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
According to him, the skill acquisition training is aimed at reducing poverty in the rural areas of the participating states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna and Kwara.
Arabi explained that the beneficiaries had been trained in various skills acquisition programmes from the inception of the programme in 2006 to date.
“The beneficiaries were trained in tailoring, agro-processing carpentry, hairdressing, bead making and shoe making.
“It also covered areas like hair dressing, nutrition and complementary feeding techniques.”
He said that working materials were distributed to the beneficiaries to begin their trade after the training.
According to Arabi, this has helped to create jobs and reduce poverty.
He said that materials distributed included 386 grinding machines, 70 multi-purpose threshers, nine groundnuts and melon shellers, 131 groundnut oil extractors, 463 storage bins and 36 solar driers.
Other items were 173 sewing and knitting machines, 74 sets of carpentry tools, 683 soap and pomade making machines, 17 hatching machines and 27 vegetable processing machines.
The list also included  148 spaghetti-making machines, 44 hair dressing and barbing tools, nine boxes of mechanic tools, seven shoe making tools, 12 bead making tools and 28 rice cake (Masa) making tools, among others.