Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) under the leadership of its Director General, Chukwuemeka Woke, has disbursed a grant of N150million to over 300 farmers across the 14 wards of Emohua Local Government Area in Rivers State.
The beneficiaries comprising 200 women and party supporters, aides to the former Chairman and social media aides, could not contain their excitements as they smiled home with N50,000 each.
According to the NOSDRA DG, the initiative aimed to aid small-scale farmers in the LGA by providing financial support to rent portions of land, purchase staple crops, and cover the costs of clearing and weeding their farmlands.
This, in turn, is expected to facilitate a bountiful harvest by the end of the year.
Speaking at the distribution event in Isiodo community, Emohua LGA, Woke stressed the initiative is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and back-to-farm initiative of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
“The goal is to empower these farmers so that by December, they can harvest their produces, especially cassava, and produce garri, which they can sell and make hundreds of thousands of naira,” Woke explained.
Woke noted that Emohua people are known to be subsistent farmers, and every beginning of the year, they make preparations to return to their farms.
However, for some, it is a financial burden to get parcels of land to farm on, which can cost N10,000 or more. Additionally, they would need to pay for clearing and weeding their farmlands at least twice before harvesting.
He explained: “The true essence of empowerment is empowering people for a cause, for survival, for sustainability, and that is what the Renewed Hope Initiative stands for. The initiative is expected to have a positive impact on the lives of the beneficiaries and contribute to the overall food security of the state.”
Also speaking at the presentation which could be described as a rainbow coalition of both PDP and APC in the council, Dr. Benibo George, the embattled PDP State Secretary, representing the State Chairman, Chukwuemeka Aaron, praised the initiative, saying, it is a true definition of human development.
George encouraged the beneficiaries to use the grant judiciously, urging Woke to sustain the tempo of the initiative.
He noted that farming is the backbone of the local economy and that the initiative would go a long way in boosting food production in the state.
The APC State Chairman Tony Okocha also thanked the coordinator of the initiative on behalf of the Renewed Hope Family. He thanked the leader of the Renowned Hope Family in the state the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nyesom Wike for the enabling support.
Okocha also urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the grant, emphasising the importance of agriculture in the state. “There’s a lot in agriculture. So, mothers, make the grants useful,” he said.
He said the Renewed Hope Initiative is part of the federal government’s efforts to boost agriculture and empower small-scale farmers across the country.
The initiative has been praised by stakeholders in the agricultural sector, who see it as a step in the right direction towards achieving food security in Nigeria.
Some beneficiaries who spoke to newsmen promised to utilise the grants, saying they have high expectations that the grants will have a positive impact on their lives as farmers in the council and contribute to the overall development of the state’s agricultural sector.
One of the beneficiaries, Uchechukwu Otuonu, said: “I feel so happy to be among the beneficiaries of this gesture because it is rare but I pray May God replenish the pocket where this comes from. I want to assure the organisers that this will judiciously put in good use.”
