In addition to creating the much needed awareness on the importance of agriculture in spearheading the socio-economic development and economic diversification of the country, particularly in the Niger Delta, the initiative aims to make agriculture an attractive and accessible sector to the youth and women through the use of modern farming techniques, formation of cooperative societies and access to micro-credit schemes and provision of the necessary support and tools.<\/p>\n
The Farmers\u00a0Day\u00a0initiative,\u00a0which has recorded many\u00a0successes; at the start took a lot of convincing to get the farmers\u00a0acceptance of\u00a0the project.\u00a0Communities had hitherto blamed oil exploration activities for their poor harvest which in truth was as a result of poor farming techniques and seedlings.\u00a0Today the initiative\u2019s success story\u00a0is\u00a0further validation that oil and agriculture can co-exist\u00a0harmoniously\u00a0and boost\u00a0the country\u2019s growth if given the requisite attention both by the\u00a0Government and the private sector.<\/p>\n
To date\u00a0Oando\u00a0and its\u00a0JV Partners\u00a0have distributed over\u00a02,711,536 fish fingerlings, 37,669 cassava bundles, 200,563 plantain suckers, 400,051 maize seeds and 87,003\u00a0seed yam\u00a0to the GRP farmers.\u00a0In 2017 they trained over 5000 women and youth in various\u00a0vocational skills and 275 youth\u00a0in Agro skills acquisition,\u00a0following its mantra to leave a lasting positive impact on its host communities.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the need to awaken to the potential of the agricultural sector, President\u00a0Muhammadu\u00a0Buhari, through a video recording played at the event said:\u00a0\u201cAgriculture is the only way we can feed ourselves in a sustainable manner. Active participation in agriculture is our patriotic duty. It will create millions of jobs in the future. We cannot keep feeding ourselves with imported food when God has blessed us with\u00a0natural\u00a0resources, we cannot continue to create jobs abroad at the expense of young, energetic, willing and able youth.\u201d\u00a0He further encouraged farmers who experienced a bad harvest as a result of the floods. He said:\u00a0\u201c\u2026 don\u2019t be dispirited, strive through the challenges. There is a compensation package for all affected farmers and fishermen. I want to assure all affected farmers we will help them. We the Government are with you.\u201d<\/p>
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<\/a>\r\n \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\nTo support the agricultural\u00a0sector,\u00a0the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)\u00a0guaranteed\u00a0a\u00a0total of N1,422.4 million to 12,524 farmers\u00a0under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) in\u00a0the third quarter of 2018.According to the\u00a0CBN\u2019s third quarter\u00a0report,\u00a0\u201cThe amount represented an increase of 53.1%\u00a0and 6.5%\u00a0above the levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2017, respectively.\u201d\u00a0The report went on to state that\u00a0\u201cAnalysis by state showed that 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory benefited from the Scheme with the highest and lowest sums of N210.8 million (14.8%)\u00a0and N0.9 million (0.1%) guaranteed to Adamawa and\u00a0Bayelsa\u00a0states, respectively.\u201d\u00a0Hence the onus lies on private companies in states such as\u00a0Bayelsa\u00a0that received the least amount to boost the agricultural sector.<\/p>\n
Through initiatives such as the Farmers\u00a0Day celebration it is evident that\u00a0Oando\u00a0and its JV partners\u00a0acknowledge\u00a0the untiring efforts shown by farmers in providing sustenance for the country\u2019s ever-growing population, providing raw materials to the nation\u2019s industries, and contributing substantially to the nation\u2019s foreign exchange earnings.<\/p>\n
To further motivate farmers to strive beyond their comfort zone and embrace farming as a means of\u00a0livelihood, sustenance\u00a0as well as boost\u00a0economic\u00a0performance, the JV issued awards to farmers in various categories\u00a0such as\u00a0overall best farmer land; overall best farmer swamp; overall best school; overall best youth cooperative society land area; overall best women cooperative society and the NAOC GRP farmer of the year which was bagged by Dr. Victor\u00a0Akujuro. The ceremony\u00a0was capped by performances from\u00a0cultural dance groups; popular artiste, Duncan Mighty, and a tour of the GRP facility to see food stuffs grown and sold by the farmers.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the event, the Chief Operating Officer,\u00a0Oando Energy Resources<\/a>,\u00a0Dr.\u00a0Ainojie\u00a0\u2018Alex’\u00a0Irune\u00a0<\/a>said:\u00a0\u201cWe\u00a0have built this\u00a0initiative\u00a0to outlive\u00a0our generation. My hope is that\u00a0future\u00a0generations\u00a0will experience\u00a0the growth of this endeavour and the value it brings.\u00a0The\u00a0nation has a lot to learn from this initiative;\u00a0in\u00a0how you can take something small and transform it through unity and collaboration\u00a0into something this successful\u00a0and on such a grand scale.\u00a0The onus lies on us as private sector partners and you to take advantage of this unique opportunity and propel your state to become an agro-export\u00a0state.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Lorenzo\u00a0Fiorillo, Vice Chairman\/Managing Director NAOC highlighted the future plans of the Joint Venture for the Green River Project which includes proposed agro-skills acquisition training for 350 youths in 2019; a planned empowerment and enhancement of businesses for 945 youth; extension of GRP activities to include four more communities in\u00a0Bayelsa\u00a0state and provision of relief materials to flood victims through the\u00a0Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers and Imo states Government. He further explained that the theme of this year\u2019s event was carefully\u00a0selected\u00a0because of the JV\u2019s numerous projects geared towards empowering the youths in particular and the people of the Niger Delta in general.<\/p>\n Calling on more youth participation in future Farmers\u00a0Day\u00a0celebrations,\u00a0Mrs\u00a0Edina\u00a0Osifo, a representative from NAPIMS said,\u00a0\u201cNAPIMS will continue support this venture to make it sustainable. Youths make the best of this initiative. It would be a pleasure to see a youth crowned the best overall farmer in 2019. I also call on women to get more involved.\u201d<\/p>\n In his vote of thanks, the COO of\u00a0Oando Energy Resources\u00a0<\/a>Dr.\u00a0Irune\u00a0<\/a>said:\u00a0\u201cOver\u00a020\u00a0years ago someone\u00a0decided that this was a good idea. Came together,\u00a0pooled the resources, supported by\u00a0people that aren’t present here today and\u00a0everyone in this place\u00a0to deliver what we\u00a0are experiencing\u00a0today. Without that vision we would not be here today. So I want to thank the NAOC\u00a0Joint\u00a0Venture and the FGN for\u00a0their commitment in\u00a0making this\u00a0a reality today. We have a lot of work to do and with the support we have from all\u00a0our stakeholders\u00a0especially the farmers, we see a bright future ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo Caption: From Left; Lorenzo Fiorillo, Vice Chairman\/Managing Director, NAOC, Tiani Alessandro, GM, District PH, NAOC and Ainojie \u2018Alex\u2019 Irune, COO, Oando Energy Resources.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cUnless Africa uses modern technologies, our farmers output will remain low and we will remain dependent on others to feed us.\u201d These were the words of\u00a0Akinwunmi\u00a0Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank, underscoring the importance and potential of the agricultural sector in sustaining the people and the African economy. His statement reinforces the fact …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":28520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1593,17],"tags":[1555,1863],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-28519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-business","category-metro","category-news","tag-farmers","tag-oando-plc"],"yoast_head":"\n