NGO auctions yam tubers in Kogi, to invest proceeds in women, youth empowerment

In an effort to reduce the high cost of food items in Kogi State, a non-governmental organisation, Lift Up Care Foundation (LUCAF), auctioned over 1,000 tubers of yam to less privileged residents in Lokoja, the state capital.

According to the organisation, the proceeds from the auction—featuring yams produced by farmers empowered by LUCAF in Osara, Kogi State—will be used to advance its women and youth empowerment programmes.

Speaking during the auction held at the Lift Up Care Foundation office, located at the 200 Housing Units in Lokoja on Friday, the Chairperson of Kogi NGO Network (KONGONET), Hamza Aliyu, described the initiative as a novel idea that other civil society organisations (CSOs) in the state should emulate.

“No NGO in Kogi State has invested in or trained people in the area of farming. This effort shows that CSOs in the state are beginning to think about how to manage their income and resources for the benefit of grassroots communities,” Aliyu said.

“These yam tubers were not industrially produced; they were grown locally by farmers trained and empowered by Lift Up Care Foundation. This is something we would like to see more of in Kogi State.”

He urged the foundation to scale up its farming activities so that higher yields of diverse farm produce can be achieved in the coming year.

Commenting on the auction, Aliyu described it as an innovative approach that will continue to portray CSOs in a positive light.

He also appealed to other civil society groups in the state to emulate LUCAF by venturing into agriculture, noting that such efforts could lead to the auctioning of multiple crops to the public in the future.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of Renaissance Care and Empowerment Foundation (RECEF), Ambassador Idris Ozovehe Muraina, commended LUCAF for the innovative initiative, promising that his organisation would also explore opportunities to invest in farming.

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On behalf of the Executive Director of LUCAF, Dr. (Mrs.) Lami Onayi Ahmed, the organisation’s Project Officer, Mohammed Sumaila, explained that LUCAF trained farmers and provided them with inputs and land to cultivate in Osara. The harvested yam tubers were then made available for auction as a direct result of the empowerment programme.

Sumaila assured that proceeds from the auction would be used to empower more people, particularly in snail farming, to improve their standard of living.