As part of measures to boost food production, Hemam Synergy has disclosed plans to empower 13,000 smallholder rural farmers in Ibaji, Kogi State to improve local rice production.
Hemam Synergy is an agribusiness firm committed to empowering farmers through the provision of agro-inputs to ensure improved yields, income, and socio-economic well-being of farmers.
The chief executive officer of the firm, Michael Ameh, in Abuja on Tuesday, August 20, explained that farmers would be supported through the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) grant it secured from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said the project would help farmers increase their yields from 1.5 tonnes per hectare to an average of 4.5 tonnes per hectare.
He added that it would help the farmers build resilience against climate change and reduce cases of crop loss associated with floods and other natural disasters.
On the challenges of farmers and why the project was important, Ameh said: “Food insecurity challenge persists as rural smallholder farmers, accounting for 90% of the country’s food production continue to face the challenge of low yields per hectare.
“This outcome results from poor agronomy practices, lack of access to good quality and affordable farm inputs, and weak adaptation and resilience to changing climate.
“Also, rural Nigerian youth face the challenge of unemployment and underemployment. Youth in rural communities often encounter a lack of formal job opportunities that offer stability, fair wages, and avenues for growth. This has led to rapid migration of youth from their rural communities to urban areas in search of better opportunities.
“One of the regions where this trend is very visible is Ibaji, Kogi State where the dominant occupation is rice farming. Many youths in Ibaji lack the necessary skills and training to secure meaningful employment in emerging sectors”.
To address the challenges, Ameh said: “The project will capitalize on the Nigerian government’s push for local rice processing, focusing specifically on the rice value chain in Ibaji. It will focus on climate resilience and adaptation and empower rural smallholder farmers to mitigate the effects of climate change and to build their perseverance and abilities to adapt.
“The project also aims to provide meaningful employment opportunities in agriculture and equip rural youths with the necessary skills. The project aims to increase the rice paddy yield per hectare of an additional 13,000 rural rice farmers in Ibaji.
“To achieve this, over 1,480 young extension service providers will be recruited to engage, onboard, and train the farmers on good agronomic practices, climate resilience and adaptation, and to manage the farmers through tech-enabled field extension jobs”.
He added that timely inputs would be provided to 13,000 young smallholder farmers.
“By bringing these jobs directly to the communities, the project will provide employment opportunities to rural youth without them having to migrate to urban areas.”
Speaking on the fund, the Head of Partnership and Sustainability, Alice Arogbonlo said the CFYE is a seven-year programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by the Palladium Group.She said the fund would support innovative ideas for improving decent work prospects for youths between the ages of 15-35 years. (Nation)