The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Foundation has trained more than 3,000 farmers in the Southern part of Nigeria in climate-smart and other model agriculture techniques.
The Foundation disclosed this at the closing session of the Southwest pilot training on Friday at Ikorodu Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NNPC Foundation Ltd/Gte is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the NNPC Ltd. focused on enhancing Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
It was incorporated in February 2023 to manage NNPC’s CSR initiatives.
Speaking on the focus of the training , the Managing Director, NNPC Foundation, Mrs Emmanuella Arukwe, said it aimed at empowering local farmers for increased agro-productivity.
“Today marks the formal conclusion of the first phase of a national journey that speaks to resilience, food security, and economic empowerment.
“What began as a bold decision to support small holder farmers has translated into tangible action across three geopolitical zones (South-East, South-South, and South-West) in Southern Nigeria.
“Across 10 locations in the South-East, South-South, and South-West, we trained over 3,860 vulnerable farmers in climate-smart agricultural practices.
“This achievement is not just a number, but a milestone in the lives of real people and real communities. We were able to strengthen farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change.
“Through the training, we were able to improve access to markets, promote inclusive agriculture and especially gender representation. We also trained them on enhancing food production through sustainable techniques,” Arukwe said.
She also assured the continuity of the training in other geopolitical zones of the country to enhance food security.
“This is only Phase One. We will now turn our focus to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones. What we have achieved in the South will inform and strengthen our next steps.
“The NNPC Foundation will continue this mission, to support livelihoods, build resilience, and empower the hands that feed our families and beyond.
“We have decided that most times you get a lot of requests from people asking us to give them palliatives and all kinds of things to help them.
“But we think it is much better to teach people to fish than just give them fish so they can continue,” she said.
On his part, the Chairman Ikorodu Local Government Area, Mr Wasiu Adesina, urged the trained farmers to use the opportunity to increase their productivity and profitability.
Adesina appreciate the NNPC Foundation for coming up with the initiative of equipping the farmers.
“As we all know, agriculture is the bedrock of any nation, without agriculture, there will not be a nation, because there will be no food to eat.
“It is the farmers that produces our food, and it is important that we train our farmers with new techniques in agriculture, and that is exactly what the NNPC Foundation is doing.
“To the farmers, you have to take advantage of this training and face the farming squarely. In some great countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, farmers are the most richest people in those countries.
“This is because they make a lot of money from farming. We need to inculcate that habit in Nigeria and develop ideas in farming.
“Even after my tenure, I am going back to farming, so, maybe I will ask the NNPC Foundation to train me so that I also join you to be a farmer,” he said.
He, however, urged the foundation to empower the farmers to start up something worthwhile after the training.
“If the farmers have land for farming, I believe the foundation will provide financial aid to keep their farms running,” Adesina said.
Also, the Lagos Commissioner of Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms Abisola Olusanya, represented by the Director of Fisheries, Mrs Osunkoya Daisi, commended the foundation for its efforts in boosting food security in the country.
“On behalf of the Lagos State Government, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to NNPC Foundation for training our farmers and for training all the farmers all over the country.
“Definitely, the training will help improve food production, we can see the impact of climate change effects in agriculture.
“I am sure farmers have been equipped with climate-smart agriculture techniques to improve production,” Olusanya said. (NAN)