NCWD trains 100 rural female farmers on ICT, donates laptops

The National Center for Women Development (NCWD) on Friday disbursed laptops and some stipends to 100 female farmers trained on ICT to improve agricultural development.

Our correspondent in Abuja reports that the newly trained female farmers were each given a laptop and some stipends after a five-day training on ICT and entrepreneurship to facilitate their work.

The Director – General of NCWD, Mrs Mary Ekpere-Eta, said that the training would expose participants to the role ICT plays in the development of modern agricultural practices in other to achieve governments plans of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

“They have been made aware of ICT techniques that can be leveraged for business development, access to finance, marketing and networking strategies, personal security, access to modern agricultural practices and others.”

Ekpere-Eta added that the participants were also introduced to the Global Spatial database of Land use, food prices, flooding in Nigeria and many other applications and resources online,

“This is to enable them gather vital and timely information which would inform their decisions as farmers,” she said.

She reiterated the commitment of the centre to empowering women and girls with skills that provide income, boost the nation’s economy and create job opportunities.

The wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs Aisha Buhari, encouraged the women to key into the ICT knowledge to improve their farming businesses .

Buhari, represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Women Affairs and Administration (Office of the First Lady), Dr Hajo Sani, encouraged more women and youths to tap into various government schemes that would empower them, rather than rely on white collar jobs.

Similarly, Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen , said that the training would cushion the effects of COVID-19 which had impacted negatively on businesses, as women are the major contributors of about 70 per cent of MSMEs in the country.

“This training is one of the strategic interventions to ameliorate the adverse effect of COVID-19 pandemic on women owned businesses across the country.”

Tallen, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Ifeoma Anyakwutaku, called on the beneficiaries to cascade the training to others as it would help to reduce poverty in the country.

Also, Mrs Dije Musa-Umar, representative of the FCT Nigeria Women in Information Technology (NIWIIT), charged the participants to use ICT to study the climate chain, food value chain and markets in other to boost productivity.

The Director-General of Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr Kashifu Inuwa-Abdullahi , emphasised the role of ICT in global economy, urging the participants to key into the initiative, which was in-line with government plans to diversify the economy.

Inuwa-Abdullahi, represented by Dr Vincent Olatunji, reaffirmed the commitment of the agency toward training farmers and others on ICT in line with global practices.

One of the participants, Mrs Irene Piental, thanked the organisers of the training.

According to her, it will further enable her meet more customers through the social media handles.

“ Before this training, I had never operated a laptop but with the skills I acquired here , I assure you that I will utilise it very well to the extent that you will call me back for more,” she said.”