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.”

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Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said Buhari stated this at a meeting with Katsina State Elders Forum in Abuja.

The president, who described agriculture as the country’s largest employer of labour and engine of growth, said his administration would continue to take steps to enhance output and productivity.

“This will be achieved by ensuring the availability of cheap agricultural credits, farm inputs, fertiliser and the introduction of latest technologies,” the statement quoted Buhari as saying.

Buhari said the choice of practicing farmers as ministers in charge of agriculture, first Chief Audu Ogbe and now, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, was a reflection of his strong wish to protect the interest of farmers and the attainment of national food self-sufficiency.

He agreed to look into the request of the elders for the expansion of existing irrigation schemes at Zobe and Sabke dams to enhance employment and profitability in agriculture.

He maintained that a situation in which 60 per cent of the state is productive in rain-fed agriculture for three to four months, and idle for the rest of the year, was unacceptable.

The president told the meeting that he had charged his ministers of agriculture to work with the states to rediscover the lost animal grazing routes and reserves as a means to ending the frequent outbreak of violence between farmers and herders.

He also pressed the necessity of educating school-age children, declaring that “once the opportunity of early education is lost, it often turns out very difficult for them to make up.

“This is the best preparation we can give to them. We destroy their lives by denying children education,” he pointed out.

Buhari also broached the issue of armed banditry and kidnapping that had bedevilled Katsina and other northwestern states, and said that the situation was being tackled the same way the farmer-herders attacks were subdued.

The leader of the delegation, Alhaji Aliyu Saulawa, who represented Alhaji Ahmadu Kurfi, Chairman of the forum, commended the president for returning peace to most parts of the state and for the various infrastructure projects, especially the Kano-Jigawa-Katsina-Maradi rail link.

They welcomed the recent decision by government to elongate the service of teachers and improve their conditions of service.

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