Firm, ADP empower Kwara female farmers with extension services, others

An agricultural integrated services firm, Ayosifarm Integrated Service Limited, in partnership with the Kwara State Agriculture Development Project (ADP) has empowered 10 selected smallholder women farmers from two local government areas of the state with extension services, training, inputs and online market

Speaking during the inauguration of the project in Ilorin on Monday, the co-founder and CEO of the agric firm, Funmilayo Esther Famuyiwa, said that the project aimed to improve productivity and economic profit of the women farmers on their agricultural practices.

Mrs. Famuyiwa, who described the women farmers as key to food sustainability and food security, said that they are as well sustaining the nation’s economy with their agricultural productivity.

“In our four years of operation, we discovered some gaps in the farmers. Because we are not after profit making alone but to impact in our community, that’s why we come up with the project, to empower smallholder women farmers to be able to increase their yields.

“With support being given to them, there will be improvement in their productivity and they will earn more income”, she said, adding that the agricultural firm planned to reach more than 200 women farmers in next planting season with more partnership to realize the objective.

“We’re not only into providing inputs, thus, we partner with Kwara state ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Nigeria Agric Insurance Corporation to offer the women farmers extension services, insurance and market access for their produce.

“As a registered food processing and packaging company, we take cassava produce from them and produce it into cassva based food produc like Ayosifam Garri, Ayosifam Lebu and Ayosifam  Cassva Chips. Because we found out that the women face challenge taking their products to market, so with creation of online market access for their agricultural produce, we bridge that gap for them as we’re into value addition production of cassava roots to high quality garri.

Mrs. Famuyiwa, who encouraged the women to be resilient, said that, “the farmer are impacting a lot of lives with what they’re doing for our communities. So, they should continue and even do more.

Also speaking, the deputy director, extwnsion department, Kwara ADP,

Mrs. Yunus Rodiyat Ronke, said that the partnership aimed to empower women in agriculture with such inputs that would improve their livelihood.

The Kwara ADP officer said that 10 women farmers; five each from the two local overnment areas have been selected to benefit the programme, adding that, “This involves two Kwara local government areas of Moro and Ilorin South local government areas. Two extension agents each from the two local government areas would be deployed to facilitate knowledge that would improve their productivity which will also improve their livelihood”.

She charged the women farmers not to leave farming to male folks alone, and encouraged them to be more involved in agriculture by planting variety of crops no matter the quantity.

Mr. Shehu Mutiu Babatunde extension agent, Kwara ADP, said that the beneficiaries would be introduced to new technology to improve their productivity and livelihood.

“Machinery and innovation that would make them spend less. Eg herbicides to use to reduce costs of labour”.

He advised the women farmers to imbibe the knowledge passed onto them to improve their productivity and profit.