The First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has launched the Renewed Hope Initiative Agricultural Support Programme for the South West Zone of Nigeria.
According to the First Lady, the launch fulfills her promise to continue promoting women, particularly farmers, across the nation.
The programme, which was held simultaneously in three other zones — North Central (Plateau State), North East (Borno State), and North West (Kebbi State) — empowered 20 women farmers with Five Hundred Thousand naira (N500,000.00) each, in addition to providing training on produce preservation, cultivation, and other agricultural practices.
“The administration of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, recognizes the pivotal role that agriculture plays in achieving sustainable development and ensuring food sufficiency. Therefore, the Renewed Hope Initiative’s commitment to supporting women farmers nationwide aligns with the broader national agenda to strengthen the agricultural sector.”
“Today, we are supporting twenty (20) women farmers per state in the South West Zone with the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) each. To this end, a draft of Ten Million Naira (N10,000,000) per state for the South West Zone will be handed over to the First Ladies of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo States, who are also RHI State Coordinators, for onward disbursement to all beneficiaries in their respective states. These farmers are involved in the agrarian sector, animal husbandry, poultry, and fish farming.”
Senator Oluremi Tinubu also announced the readiness of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to partner with the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) in promoting women’s involvement in agriculture.
“In a short while, the Renewed Hope Initiative will be collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to empower potential farmers. In this phase, 75% of the beneficiaries will be young female farmers, while 25% will be young male farmers. They will all be specially identified, trained, and empowered. Also, the pre-identified eighty (80) women farmers in each state for our agricultural support programme will be carried along.”
The event served a dual purpose, as the First Lady distributed recapitalization grants of One Hundred Thousand naira (N100,000.00) each to 100 People with Disabilities (PWD) in Ogun State.
“All pre-selected recipients of the grant will receive the funds today, through our RHI Coordinator for Ogun State, Her Excellency, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun.”
She took the opportunity to inform the gathering about some upcoming and ongoing activities of the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI.
One of them is the RHI Every Home a Garden Competition, encouraging women to plant gardens at home to ensure food security, with the initiative’s slogan being “#FoodOnEveryTable”. Entries for this competition are to be submitted through the State First Ladies by October 2024.
The winner will receive Twenty Million Naira (N20,000,000), with the best garden in each state selected by the State First Lady and sent to Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s office, and the overall winner announced in December 2024.
Another competition announced was the #OneNigeria/Unity Fabric Competition, aimed at creating a fabric promoting peace and unity among Nigerians. Open to Nigerians aged 15-25, the winner will receive a cash prize of Twenty-Five Million Naira (N25,000,000), to be used for education or business. Call for entries has begun, with submissions closing on June 30, 2024, and the Unity Fabric launching on October 1, 2024.
Earlier, Senator Oluremi Tinubu met with traditional rulers in the state, assuring them of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s readiness to restore the nation’s esteemed status.
The Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, speaking on behalf of the monarchs, applauded her interventions, noting her home state’s pride in her contributions to national development.
