The Delta State government has launched the ‘SHEFARMERS Initiative’ to encourage women farmers.

Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agricultural Matters, Aneke Ifemeni, inaugurated the initiative on Thursday in Asaba.

Mr Ifemeni assured of the state government’s support to the initiative to enable it achieve the set objectives.

He also expressed the government’s commitment to supporting all efforts geared toward ensuring food security, owing to the high level of hunger and poverty in the land.

Mr Ifemeni, who is the Coordinator of Delta State Coconut Development Programme (DESCODEP), commended the organisers of the initiative for taking interest in increasing the productivity and purchasing power of women farmers in the state, urging them not to relent.

In her remarks, National President of ‘SHEFARMERS Initiative’, Kudirat Temitope-Andy, said the initiative was aimed at creating an enabling environment for women agripreneurs in the country.

She said that it was also targeted at exposing them to the global community in order to be able to access loans and grants to grow their businesses.

Ms Temitope-Andy solicited for the support of the state government for the initiative which, she said, would focus on training and value addition to farm produce to enhance the economic wellbeing of women farmers. 

Also speaking, the South-South Coordinator of the initiative, Gloria Umukotete, said that women farmers in the state had lots to gain from the organisation and urged them to key in to the programme in the overall interest of their agribusiness. 

She assured those who lost their farm produce to the recent flooding that plans were on to compensate them. 

The event, which was attended by women farmers from across the state, featured exhibition of commodities and cutting of cake. 

(NAN)