The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has flagged off the Renewed Hope Initiative Agricultural Support Programme for the South West Zone of Nigeria, which she said is in fulfilment of her promise to continue to promote women, particularly farmers across the Nation.
The programme, which held simultaneously in three other zones –North Central (Plateau State), North East (Borno State) and North West (Kebbi State) – had 20 women farmers empowered with N500, 000.00 each in addition to being trained on produce preservation, cultivation and others.
Mrs. Tinubu said: “The administration of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR recognises the pivotal role that agriculture plays in achieving sustainable development and ensuring food sufficiency. Therefore, the Renewed Hope Initiative’s (RHI) commitment to supporting women farmers nationwide aligns with the broader national agenda to strengthen the agricultural sector.
“Today, we are supporting 20 women farmers per state in the South West zone with N500,000 each. To this end, a draft of N10 million per state for the South West zone will be handed over to the First Ladies of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo States who are also RHI State Coordinators for onward disbursement to all beneficiaries in their respective states. These farmers are those in the agrarian sector, animal husbandry, poultry and fish farming”.
She also announced the readiness of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to partner with RHI in promoting women’s involvement in agriculture.
“In a short while, the Renewed Hope Initiative will be collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to empower potential farmers. In this phase, 75 per cent of the beneficiaries will be young female farmers, while 25 per cent will be for our young male farmers. They will all be specially identified, trained and empowered. Also, the pre-identified 80 women farmers in each state for our agricultural support programme will be carried along”, Tinubu further said.
The event was a two-in-one, where the First Lady gave out recapitalisation grants of N100,000 each to 100 People with Disabilities (PWDs) in Ogun State.
“All pre-selected recipients of the grant will receive the funds today, through our RHI Coordinator for Ogun State, Her Excellency, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun”, the First Lady said.
She seized the opportunity to inform the gathering about some of RHI’s upcoming and ongoing activities, among which is RHI Every Home a Garden competition in which women are encouraged to plant a garden at home.
“The goal of this is to ensure food in every home, hence our slogan for this initiative is ‘#FoodOnEveryTable’. I encourage you all to spread the word in your communities. The winner of this competition will go home with N20 million. Entries are to be submitted through the State First Ladies by October 2024. The best garden in the state will be selected by the State First Lady and sent to my office,while the overall winner out of the 37 presented, representing all states of the Federation and the FCT will be announced in December, 2024”, Tinubu explained.
The other competition is the #One Nigeria/unity fabric. “As we are in Abeokuta, the home of rich fabrics and textile designs, I am happy to also inform you of our National Fabric Competition #One Nigeria/Unity Fabric. This competition seeks to create a fabric that is indigenous, promotes peace and unifies us as Nigerians. The competition is open to all Nigerians within and outside the shores of the country within ages of 15 to 25years old. The winner of this competition will be given a cash prize of N25 million to be channeled towards his/her education or business venture, as the case may be. Call for entries have begun and submission of entries closes on the 30th June, 2024. The Unity Fabric will be launched on 1st October, 2024”.
Earlier, the First Lady met with traditional rulers in the state where she assured them of the preparedness of President Bola Tinubu to bring the nation back to its enviable status.
The Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, who spoke on behalf of the monarchs, applauded the First Lady’s interventions, adding that her home state is proud of her antecedents and contributions to national development.
