The wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Patience Umo Eno, has disbursed five hundred thousand naira each to 20 female farmers selected across the three Senatorial Districts of the State.
The cash empowerment aimed at encouraging women’s involvement in Agriculture, falls under the Renewed Hope Initiative, Women Agricultural Support Programme recently launched in Uyo for the South South region, by the Wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
Presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries at Government House Uyo, the state RHI Co – ordinator, Pastor Patience Eno said the sum of N10 million disbursed to the 20 women farmers in the state, will boost food security and empower them to expand their agricultural interventions, ranging from crop farming, poultry and animal husbandry to fish farming.
While stating that women play a crucial role in fostering sustainability and availability of affordable food, Pastor Patience Eno commended the Nations First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for prioritizing the welfare of female farmers throughout the country, as well as the upkeep and well being of the Elderly and persons living with disabilities, especially those at the grassroots.
“This support is for you to add to your existing farms to increase the volume of your production. This means that your business will flourish and you will expand to include other products “, the Governors wife added.
She said as a way of supporting the activities of the Renewed Hope Initiative for the Elderly, an offshoot of the humanitarian engagement of Senator Oluremi Tinubu, where 100 elders benefitted from the sum of one hundred thousand naira each, her husband the Governor has replicated same, through the Arise Initiative for the Elderly, where the sum of #50,000 is released monthly to six hundred Senior Citizens across the state.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Margaret Edem, stated that women in agriculture often face numerous challenges including limited access to resources, commending the wife of the President for her humanitarian efforts in supporting female farmers in rural communities. She urged the beneficiaries to apply the funds received to the expansion of their existing agricultural projects, to complement efforts by the Akwa Ibom State Government to provide affordable food.
Mrs Edem who thanked the Governors wife for facilitating the disbursement through the Ministry for documentation and monitoring purposes, also thanked the State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno for the periodic distribution of largesse and welfare packages under the ARISE Agenda for the vulnerable in the state.
The beneficiaries thanked Senator Oluremi Tinubu for reaching out to support their agricultural ventures irrespective of political affiliations, pledging to apply the funds to the expansion and improvement of their farm operations.
They also thanked the farmer friendly Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno for the various agricultural interventions for farmers in rural communities and his wife Patience Eno, for facilitating the release of the funds to them, assuring that food will be available, affordable and accessible in Akwa Ibom State.