Renewed Hope Initiative: Edo govt, First Lady to empower women in agriculture

Towards the uplifting of the agriculture sector in Edo State, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Peter Osagie has led a delegation of ministry officials to the coordinator, Office of the Edo State Governor’s Wife, Mrs. Edesili Anani to transform agribusiness in the state.

The visit, initiated by the Coordinator, Anani, was aimed at exploring potential collaborations between the two offices in implementing the Renewed Hope Initiatives (RHI) of Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the Wife of the President.

Anani noted that the Renewed Hope Initiatives (RHI) focused on four key agricultural support projects aimed at transforming agriculture and improving livelihoods.

She explained that the first project involves training and empowering women in agriculture, with additional support provided to young male and female farmers to encourage their participation in the sector.

The second project: the “Every-Home-a-Garden” programme, seeks to encourage families to cultivate small gardens, thereby boosting national food production, reducing market pressure, and improving household food access.

“This programme also offers cash incentive to motivate participation. Lastly, the revitalisation of the Young Farmers Club aims to re-engage young people with agriculture as a viable and sustainable career path.

“The RHI would be targeting schools in Edo to reshape students’ perspectives on farming, highlighting it as a business opportunity and essential investment for national food security.

In his response, the Permanent Secretary expressed gratitude for the invitation and reaffirmed the Ministry’s unwavering support for the successful implementation of these projects in the state.

He highlighted that the RHI’s objectives align with the Ministry’s mandate and the 2025 budget priorities of Governor Monday Okpebholo, who has placed a strong emphasis on agriculture.

Dr. Osagie further highlighted several ongoing initiatives within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security that could serve as effective channels for implementing the RHI. These include the IFAD-Life-ND Programme, which employs an incubator-incubatee model to facilitate agricultural apprenticeship; the Commercial Agriculture Credit Loan Scheme, designed to provide farmers with affordable credit at single-digit interest rates; and the FADAMA NG-CARES Programme, which focuses on supporting agricultural clusters with an emphasis on processing and value addition among other programmes.