Ogun, BATN roll out empowerment scheme on poultry farming, train women farmers

As part of efforts aimed at encouraging further investment in poultry farming through small and medium-scale enterprises, the Ogun State government is partnering the British-American Tobacco Nigerian Foundation (BATNF) on human capacity development and material empowerment of women poultry farmers in all three senatorial districts.

The human capacity training and material empowerment is designed by Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture and the BATNF as part of economic interventions to boost investment in poultry sector of Nigeria’s agricultural economy in order to create wealth and generate employment, thereby increasing local and foreign revenue.

Speaking at the certificates presentation for the first set of women farmers trained on poultry value chain in Abeokuta on Monday, Abimbola Okoya, general manager, BATNF, said the foundation was established with the vision to reduce poverty in Nigerian communities, targeting all divisions within the state.

Okoya said the training was first in the empowerment process designed to build capacity of women small-holder farmers and equip them with the needed materials, saying that “with the training received by beneficiaries, we believe they would put into practice, all they had learnt to properly manage their farms and market their farm produce to increase their productivity, income and make life more meaningful.”

Also, Ronke Sokefun, Ogun State commissioner for agriculture, said government would roll out incentives to encourage massive investment in various sectors of agriculture, especially poultry and animal production, explaining that the partnership with BATNF was part of the state public private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

One of the focuses of the tate government was to empower rural dwellers by engaging and enriching them through PPP, Sokefun said, saying: “We always encourage and facilitate PPP for the benefit of our farmers. We want them to improve their livelihood and also be employers of labour even through farming.”

She, however, revealed that the women poultry farmers in the state would be allocated with free agricultural produce marketing outlets at the recently commissioned state-owned Farmers Mart, Asero in Abeokuta South Local Government Area in order to further empower women farmers in the state, noting that the farmers’ mart was a right avenue to market their produce.

Responding on behalf of other beneficiaries, Elizabeth Oyenumade commended the ministry of agriculture’s partnership with the BATNF, but appealed to the partners to fast-track the empowerment process with needed materials and tools in addition to human capacity development orgainsed for women farmers.

RAZAQ AYINLA