Initiative for a Greener Africa (IGAfrica), a registered social enterprise in the country has inaugurated its Sustainable Alternative Livelihood and Empowerment Support (SALES) programme to empower rural women and girls.
The group with the mandate to build the capacity of women and youths, expose them to the opportunities in agribusiness and also create an enabling environment for them to thrive, empowered hundreds of women in dry season farming.
The beneficiaries were selected from Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun state who were assisted in dry season vegetable production.
With the support of the US Department of States and in partnership with DewFresh Veggies (Our lead Trainer), IGAfrica provided free land, free water/irrigation, free seeds, free farming tools, free training and mentorship for up to six months to members of the National Youths Service Corps (Females), rural women and girls.
Founder of IGAfrica, Adeniyi Philip Ayoola, a Mandela Washington Fellow, disclosed that as part of the group’s mission to “catch them young”, it launched agric club in rural secondary schools to inspire the younger generation about agriculture.
He said, “We are trying to show the pupils how food is made in order to increase their interest for the farming profession, considering that farmers are aging and the younger generation are needed to take over from them, especially, where Nigeria’s population is expected to surpass that of America by 2050.”
According to him, the group aims “to boost the socioeconomic status of the beneficiaries, enhance food security in Nigeria, increase access to land for farming purposes in order to achieve the SDGs, particularly, No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good health and wellbeing, Quality Education and Gender Equality SDGs 1-5 respectively.”
Ayoola added that the idea of NYSC (Females) is to inspire the next generation of Nigerian farmers and provide them with the necessary skills needed to succeed after the one year programme.
