PROSELL targets women to improve food security in Taraba
By Jethro Yerga, Jalingo
In order to boost food security and make women cultivate good and enough food for the people of Taraba State, European Union Support to Food Security and Resilience, through OXFAM and Development Exchange Centre (DEC), has continue to intensify efforts towards creating an enabling environment for rural people especially women to be successful in their agricultural activities.
At a training session organized by the organization as part of its activities marking the World Food Day and commemorating the International Day for Rural Women, held at Mallum Resort, Ardokola Local Government Council recently, over 60 persons, mostly women, where through thorough exhibitions and demonstrations, trained on various food production processes and their nutritional values.
The training which drew participants from the various minutes communities was aimed at making women to contribute maximally towards ensuring sustainable quality food production in their communities.
Addressing newsmen during the training, the Governance and influencing Coordinator, Mr Daniel M. Abah, noted that the program targeted 6 Local Government Areas and was aimed at creating an enabling environment and friendly policies in order to boost food security in Taraba state.
He said the participants were drawn from rural communities of the target Local Government Areas.
“We are here to appreciate the women and present a food exhibitions where they will see that what they cultivate in their farm can be put into ensuring ending hunger and building nutrients towards ensuring that they are well fed.
“As a project we want to ensure that the footprint for sustainable agriculture is attained in Taraba State”. He stated.
The coordinator expressed hope that as they prepared for the project closure, the result and impact they had created would bring a phase of extension where he hoped there would be a collaboration of government agencies to see how the sustainability could be drive towards LGA for implementation.
Mr. Daniel encouraged the women to pick the dietary aspect of the food exhibition, stating that Whatever they cultivate in their farm, has a specific nutritional value that could add to ending hunger in their communities in particular and the whole state at large.
Harping on the challenges the program was facing in the state, the facilitators identified insecurity in the state, difficult terrains and the hard to reach areas of the state as some of the impediment hampering the speedy implementation of the program.
He however, noted that for each of the challenges, they had always come to terms as to how best they would approach the community and they had variously overcome some of the challenges successfully.
He called on the Government at all levels to intensify efforts towards provision of infrastructures such as construction of good roads and culverts as well as curb insecurity in the country to enable rural people go about their farm works and other businesses.
Mr. Daniel applauded the participants, especially the women for their resilience and commitment towards transforming their livelihood and assured that PROSELL would do everything possible to ensure that no one was left behind.
While expressing their joy towards the program, one of the participants who identified herself as Rejoice Simon, applauded PROSELL for removing them out of the dreaded jaws of poverty through the project and pray God to bless the coordinators abundantly.
She stated that the project had provided an opportunity for her to expand her farm which lead to increase in harvest, enabling her to go back to school with ease.
She stated that the knowledge and financial strength they had gathered would enable them to also stand firm and Continue to be financially independent aside the quality food sufficiency they would maintain in their various communities.
Also, Mrs. Jumai Abdullahi, from Bakin Dutse Community said, ever since she joined PROSELL about two years back, her perception about life automatically changed.
She stated that before she was enlisted as one of the beneficiaries of the program, she thought that people like them could not amount to anything as far as good living was concerned.
“We first gathered money and they told us that we could borrow from it. I first borrowed 40,000 and bought one bag of beans, one trip of firewood and maggi and started selling in my house.
“Before I know, I realized up to 70, 000 before the end of the year. I paid back the money and get mine to continue with my business at home.
“Again, after a short while, they started teaching us how to manage our farms and this is really helping us. With the proceeds from my farm, I now sale them and go to Kano where I normally buy goods including women and children wares to come and sale”. She added.
Mrs. Jumai further emphasized that what the project had done to them would continue to generate alot of impacts in their various communities even when the organization was no more with them.
Meanwhile, the theme for this year’s World Food Day was ” leave No one Behind” while that of the International Day for Rural Women was ” Cultivating Good Food for All”.
