A group, Hope Farmers Movement, has trained 500 farmers in Imo State on how to cultivate mushrooms, plantain value chain and livestock management with a view to improving surplus food and food security.
The training which lasted two days was held at APC State Secretariat Owerri last week with Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Hon. Dr. Chris Washington Igbozuriike and other notable government appointees and agriculturists being present.
In an address, state Chairman, Cocoa and Plantain Farmers Association of Nigeria, CEO, SmartField and Agro Services and Director General, Hope Farmers Movement, Amb. Innocent Dike, stated that the program was geared to educate substantive farmers on how to indulge in production of these varieties of crops to have food sufficiency and food security thereby create jobs for over 500 women and youths, alleviate poverty and generate revenue. Dike noted that their intention for the training is to make “these women enter into commercial farming.
We structured it in such a way that 60 percent of empowerment goes to women, 30 percent to youths and 10 percent to adults, empowering a woman you have saved a community”. Dike enjoined the trainees to go into active food production and food sufficiency, stressing that the need to address food insecurity, hunger and poverty is the reason for the programme, urging them to embrace agriculture especially Mushroom, Plantain, Banana farming and livestock rearing to enable them live wealthy.
“Therefore, I encourage you attendees, to venture into this type of farming in order to benefit from all the agriculture programmes rolled out by the 3R led government”, Dike advised. Dike pointed out challenges encountered when one starts this type of farming most especially women due to right to land, where he said in most cases they are not allowed to inherit land and this poses a major setback to majority of them who want to go into commercial farming “and part of our advocacy is that government should assist in acquiring land for our farmers so that they can diversify into commercial farming with proper negotiation, communities and their traditional rulers can provide massive land for us to achieve this food sufficiency, youths with the required strength must passionately get involved”.
Dike thanked Governor Hope Uzodimma for encouraging farming; expressing gratitude to the unwavering support government has shown in the area of agriculture ranging from incentives, grants to Imo farmers as support, “this motivated me to form a support group in conjunction with Shared Prosperity government, because agriculture has become a vital sector of the economy”. Commenting, SA on Agriculture to the Governor, Hon. Dr. Chris Washington Igbozuruike, on behalf of the Governor, thanked the Convener for training 500 women “and youths and the target of 2000 before December 2023 will lead to food surplus in the state”.
