By Francesca Okojie
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), Dr. Peter Osagie accompanied by a delegation of Ministry officials has visited the Coordinator of the Office of the Wife of the Governor, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Anani. The visit which was initiated by the Co-ordinator aimed at exploring potential collaborations between the two offices in implementing the Renewed Hope Initiatives (RHI) of Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the Wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Renewed Hope Initiatives (RHI) focus on four key agricultural support projects aimed at transforming agriculture and improving livelihoods. 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” program, seeks to encourage families to cultivate small gardens, thereby boosting national food production, reducing market pressure, and improving household food access. This program also offers a cash incentive to motivate participation. Lastly, the revitalization of the Young Farmers Club aims to re-engage young people with agriculture as a viable and sustainable career path. By targeting schools in Edo State, this initiative seeks to reshape students’ perspectives on farming, highlighting it as a business opportunity and an 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 Edo State. He highlighted that the RHI’s objectives align with the Ministry’s mandate and the 2025 budget priorities of His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State, who has placed a strong emphasis on agriculture.
Dr. Osagie further highlighted several ongoing initiatives within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) that could serve as effective channels for implementing the Renewed Hope Initiatives. These include the IFAD-Life-ND Program, 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 Program, which focuses on supporting agricultural clusters with an emphasis on processing and value addition among other programmes.
