The Plateau State Government has put together a training for 120 rural women on Smart Agriculture.
The training was organised by the Special Adviser on Sustainable Technology and Carbon Credit Management, Mr Nuhu Yakubu.
Speaking at the event on Wednesday in Miango, Jos, Yakubu said that the exercise aimed at responding to the challenges of climate change.
He explained that the training would equip the women with the necessary skills and knowledge to practice eco-friendly farming.
Yakubu also added that the exercise would enable the the government to generate accurate data to help with proper planning.
“My role is to provide advice to the governor on sustainable technology and carbon credit, so if we don’t have enough data, we will not be able to provide the needed advice.
“So this workshop is to interact with the grassroots people who are into farming, to generate enough data and to be able to see how we can help them to farm in line with the current climate change position
“Over the years, we have been talking about climate change, and currently, the temperature is higher than it used to be.
“With the current situation, any crop that naturally survives within a cooler climate is in trouble; that’s why we have a lot of pesticides that are affecting our crops.
“This workshop is to beef up the knowledge of these women on climate change and how they can adapt, and have climate smart agriculture as the rainy season begins,” he said.
The special adviser further said that at the end of the training, the participants would be given between N50,000 to N200,000 each to begin smart agricultural practices.
Yakubu, however, promised that the programme would be extended to other parts of the state in order to accommodate more women.
Speaking at the event, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, a former Minister of Water Resources, called on the participants to take advantage of the opportunity to empower themselves.
Ochekpe also tasked all women in the state to adopt regular tree planting and eco-friendly practices.
NAN
