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Some young farmers in Kwara State have been trained in the use of drones for precision and to maximize their yield.
During the ceremony, held in Ilorin the Kwara capital, Wife of Kwara State Governor, Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said the programme, under the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI on agriculture and promotion of food security in Nigeria, will increase food production and support families and households.
During the programme, the RHI Young Farmers Club and the RHI Women Agricultural Support Programme, Every Home a Garden and youth agricultural support programmes were also inaugurated.
Professor Abdulrazaq also presented five Hundred Thousand Naira each to twenty female farmers in the State on behalf of Senator Oluremi Tinubu as part of the Renewed Hope Initiative Agricultural Support Programme.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Saba Jubril, wife of the Kwara State Governor explained that, while the Young Farmers Club is designed to make farming more appealing to pupils and students, it also stands to nurture a generation that will transform the agricultural landscape, imbibe modern farming techniques, and ensure that Nigeria remains self-sufficient in food production.
She explained further that the Women Agricultural Support programme, Every Home a Garden and the Youth Agricultural Support Programme aim to encourage women and youth to farming as an avenue to create wealth, as their passion, energy and creativity will drive innovation and growth in the agric sector.
She noted that Agriculture remains a vital component of Nigeria’s economy, contributing more than a fifth of the GDP and employing almost two thirds of the total working population.
According to her, this intervention by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, through the Renewed Hope Initiative and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is timely as it would duly engage the beneficiaries and create pathways to boosting agricultural production in the country.
The Kwara First Lady, also emphasized that one of the policy thrusts of the Administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is to see agriculture as a sustainable business through the promotion of commercial agriculture, provision of enabling environment for peasants and small holder farmers to practically engage in farming beyond subsistence level and put mechanism in place for all season farming.
She recalled that the Kwara State government in August 2024, distributed thirty two tractors to the sixteen local government areas in the State, as well as supported over six hundred thousand beneficiaries farmers and vulnerable agro entrepreneur through the distribution of farm implements.
The Wife of the Kwara State Governor added that her office and the Ajike People Support Centre, has continued to endear women and youths in the State to the agric sector as part of effort to complement the efforts of government.
Story by Bukola Olajide
