The Director-General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Chukwuemeka Woke, has given N150million grants to over 300 farmers across the 14 wards of Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State under the Renewed Hope Back-to-Farm-Support Initiative.
The beneficiaries comprising 200 women and supporters across party lines, aides to the former chairman and social media aides, were excited as they smiled home with N50,000 each.
NOSDRA DG said the initiative was designed to to provide financial support to small-scale farmers in the LGA to enable them rent portions of land, purchase seedlings and cover the costs of clearing and weeding their farmlands.
Speaking at the distribution event in Isiodo community, Emohua LGA, Woke emphasized that the initiative was in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and Back-to-Farm initiative of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
He said: “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.
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Woke noted that Emohua people were known as subsistent farmers, and that at the beginning of each year, they would always prepare 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.
“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”, he said.
Also, speaking at the presentation, which brought the PDP and the APC in the council together, Dr. Benibo George, the PDP State Secretary, representing the State Chairman, Chukwuemeka Aaron, praised the initiative, saying, it was 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 remained the backbone of the local economy and that the initiative would go a long way in boosting food production in the state.
Tony Okocha, the APC State Chairman, also thanked the coordinator of the initiative on behalf of the Renewed Hope Family and the leader of the Renewened Hope Family in the state the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nyesom Wike.
Okocha also urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the grant, emphasizing the importance of agriculture in the state.
He said the Renewed Hope Initiative was part of the federal government’s efforts to boost agriculture and empower small-scale farmers across the country.
Some beneficiaries promised to utilize the grants, saying they had high expectations that the support would have a positive impact on their lives as farmers in the council.
One of the beneficiaries, Uchechukwu Otuonu, said: “I feel happy among the beneficiaries of this gesture because it is rare but I pray God to replenish the pocket where this comes from. I want to assure the organisers that this will be judiciously put in good use.”