The Taraba Government, in conjunction with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), has honoured women farmers in the state for innovation in agro-processing and marketing.
The women were honoured at an event to mark the International Year of the Women Farmers on Thursday in Abuja.
Prof. Nicolas Nemessan, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, said the women were honoured for their extraordinary innovation in agro-processing and marketing.
Represented by Dr Sara Ali, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Nemessan noted that women have shattered the boundaries of traditional farming through the Taraba VCDP Women Network.
“You are no longer producing raw materials but dynamically transforming them into high-level consumer goods.
“We are amazed to see how skillfully you process raw rice into nutritious rice cake, and how you turn locally milled cassava flour into high-quality cakes and confectionery.
“This creative value-addition is changing the agricultural and economic landscape of Taraba.
“It is also exciting to see how you have rewritten the story of the rural woman from a subsistence farmer to a competitive agribusiness leader.
“To match these incredible efforts, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, under the visionary leadership of Gov. Agbu Kefas, pledges our unalloyed support,” he said.
In his remarks, Mr Irimiya Musa, Coordinator of VCDP in the state, said the occasion was a demonstration of women’s innovation and enterprise in agribusiness.
Musa commended Gov. Kefas for being up to date in the payment of counterpart funding for the programme.
He encouraged the women to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the Kefas administration to transform their livelihoods.
Mrs Altine Nuhu, the Rural Institution Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Officer (RIGYMO), expressed satisfaction with the products displayed by the women.
Nuhu gave the assurance that the programme would continue to engage women and persons with disabilities to improve their livelihoods.
It was reported that various individuals were presented with awards of honour for their support to the programme.
It was also reported that participants displayed various products from the VCDP programme.
Many beneficiaries recounted how the programme had transformed their livelihoods as well as enhanced their entrepreneurial capabilities.
Mrs Aisha Mohammed and Mrs Lady Musa, recipients of the award, thanked VCDP for training and empowering them to be self-employed.
Mohammed said the enterprise had made her home more stable, unlike when she was unemployed.
Musa said the empowerment would go a long way in boosting food production in the state as well as enhancing her livelihood.
