In a bid to boost food security and empower small-scale farmers, the Director General National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Engr Chukwuemeka Woke, under the Renewed Hope Back to Farm Support Initiative has disbursed grant to over 300 farmers across the 14 wards of Emohua Local Government Area (LGA) in Rivers State.
The beneficiaries comprising 200 women and party supporters, aides to the former Chairman and social media aides, could not contain their excitement 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 emphasized that 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 produce, 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 subsistence 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.”
