By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Dry season farming has been described as a crucial tool for economic empowerment, poverty reduction, and food security, particularly in rural areas where farming is the primary source of livelihood.
The Nnewi South Coordinator of the Soludo Solution Movement (SSM), Mr. Kamstan Nwigbo, declared this at a one-day event organized by the group to empower rural women through the promotion of dry season farming.
Held on Sunday at the Secretariat Complex of the Nnewi South Local Government Headquarters, Ukpor, the well-attended event that drew over five thousand participants from the ten communities in the local government, also attracted top government functionaries from the local government area and beyond.
Addressing the participants, the Convener of the occasion, Mr. Nwigbo, said the aim of the occasion was to equip rural women with the necessary knowledge and resources to engage in dry season farming, which is not only beneficial for food production but also serves as a means to increase their income and improve their standard of living.
Mr. Nwigbo, who hailed the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, for showing special interest in agriculture, highlighted the various things the Solution Government has so far done in agriculture in the state, including his recent distribution of over one million free seedlings to Ndị Anambra.
Commending the Governor, he further urged the people to support and key into the agricultural initiative of the Solution Government, especially by engaging in year-round farming, to be among the key beneficiaries of the vision and reap its numerous benefits. He said the event was part of the SSM’s moves and strategies to replicate and domesticate the Governor’s agricultural revolutionary vision in Nnewi South, empower and reawaken the people’s consciousness and embracement of agriculture as the way to go, especially in the face of the economic realities in the country.
“Everyone should embrace farming, both in the rainy season and dry season; it is the way to go, including backyard farming (Ugbo Azụ Ụlọ),” he advised.
Mr. Nwigbo, who cited many ex-Nigerian Presidents and other top government functionaries who are farmers, also advocated and shared many insights into dry season farming and its benefits, while also urging the participants to embrace and key into this Soludo-influenced vision due to its numerous benefits. He further assured that the Soludo Solution Movement would sustain the advocacy and empowerment by periodically organizing such events from time to time and providing them with every necessary support and assistance needed to enable the initiative to thrive beyond expectations.
Earlier, delivering a lecture on the theme of the event — “Empowering Rural Women Through Dry Season Backyard Farming: Means for Attacking Rural Poverty” — the Keynote Speaker at the event, Prof. Frank Anaeto of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, enlightened the participants on the need for dry season farming, how to practice it, as well as the various types of crops that have greater chances of survival and germination in the dry season, such as okra, maize, garden egg, pepper, tomatoes, sweet potato, cassava, yam, green, pawpaw, among others.
According to him, women are key actors in fighting poverty and ensuring family’s survival and sustainability in every society; hence the well-thought-out move to empower and better equip them for these.
According to him, such agricultural-related empowerment of women leads to improved livelihood, food security, improved health and wellbeing, improved local economy, poverty reduction, access to fresh farm produce, among other numerous benefits.
Achieving this, he said, requires and necessitates providing an enabling environment for the women, which he further charged the organizers of the event and the government to help provide, so that the women can effectively utilize and make progress with the empowerment being given to them.
While describing the event as auspicious in the face of the present economic realities in the country, he appreciated the organizers for the job well done, and further joined his voice to laud Governor Soludo, whom he described as a farmer-friendly Governor who has shown unquantifiable interest in agriculture. He urged the Governor to sustain the good work and further called on the women to key into the vision.
In a remark, the National Convener of the Soludo Solution Movement and Chief Host of the event, Chief Jude Umunnakwe Obiora, who was wowed by the population of the crowd at the event, commended the organizers for their foresight and impacts manifested through their activities.
Chief Obiora, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Political Mobilization, also attested that the grassroots empowerment program came at the most appropriate time and aligns with the vision of the Soludo Administration at the state level, given its potential to improve the welfare of the masses at the grassroots and beyond while also bringing solutions to many challenges currently bedeviling the masses.
Contributing, the Special Guest of Honour and Special Adviser to Governor Soludo on Political Matters, Dr. Alex Obiogbolu, represented by Hon. Obiajulu Nwoye, congratulated the people of Nnewi South on the return of calmness and airtight security of lives and property in the area, which he attributed to the Soludo-led Anambra State Government. He also advised Ndị Nnewi South not to be deceived by anyone in the forthcoming elections in the state, especially the September 28 local government elections, adding that voting for the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) is one of the surest ways they can appreciate, support, and reciprocate the good deeds of the Governor for the people of the local government.
In his goodwill message, the Anambra State Commissioner for Environment and former Chairman of Nnewi Local Government Area, Engr. Dr. Felix Odimegwu, represented by Hon. Comrade Okwuchukwu Udegbe, commended the Soludo Solution Movement Nnewi South for their dedication to community empowerment and added that their efforts were truly reflective of the Governor’s vision for an economically empowered state.
While noting that the empowerment of rural women is pivotal to the socio-economic transformation of the people at the grassroots, he also urged the participants to put into practice all they learned at the event in order to maximize the benefits and contribute more significantly in hunger reduction.
The event also featured an interactive session with the participants, as well as the distribution of some potted breadfruit seedlings, hybrid maize seedlings, and hybrid okra seedlings to the participants, courtesy of the Soludo Solution Movement, Nnewi South.
In their votes of thanks, the Women Leader of the Soludo Solution Movement in Nnewi South, Mrs. Nkoli Okafor, and some other participants at the event, including Mrs. Nkechi Ndubuisi, expressed their heartfelt appreciation to the organizers, while also assuring that they would make good use of the seedlings. They also reassured their support for the Soludo-led APGA government in Anambra State, further joining their voices to advocate the embracement of agriculture as one of the surest ways to overcome poverty and gain financial stability.
Also in attendance at the event were the National Woman Leader of the Soludo Solution Movement, Hon. Mrs. Ify Dike; as well as an APGA Stakeholder in the area, Chief Izuchukwu Anene, among others.
The symbolic distribution of the seedlings to the participants formed the high point of the event.
More photos from the event:
