By Justina Auta
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs has collaborated a Chinese company, Lima Machinery Company, on improved mechanised farming to empower women, improve agriculture and boost national revenue.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, said this while receiving some members of staff of the company in Abuja on Friday.
Kennedy-Ohanenye said the collaboration would empower women with skills to boost agricultural productivity and generate revenue for the farmers and nation.
“This will not only keep them busy, but away from criminal act, make money because communities will come together to do this work as brothers and sisters.
“They will give us modernised and mechanised farming tools to make it easy for Nigerians to do these work, which will help them to make more proceeds without overworking themselves.
“So, that we will multiply what we used to get before, sell cheaper and Nigerians will get more food.
“This will make a better future impact than what we have been doing with advocacies, meetings, lavishing the whole money, while the major people the money is meant for are suffering,’’ she said.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, stressed that the collaboration would be on rice milling project and provision of mechanized farming tools for sustainable empowerment of women in Nigeria.
The minister said that a portal would be brought up to enable the farmers get access to buyers, distributors, sellers, advertisers, marketers both at the local and international levels.
She explained further that there would be hubs to sell off excess produce that will yield huge profits for the farmers.
“There will be hubs, like a warehouse in each local government, where if you can not sell all, you notify the hub operators.
“So that the villages will have access to these hubs to show what they have and are placed on the portal alerting the buyers, who will make their demands.
“We are also planning for them to have a butchering locations in each of those hubs, so that they can go there butcher with packaging machines and freeze to be distributed across the nation, which will bring down the cost of food and enable the farmers get more money,” she said.
She added that a Fish Grilling Machines locally fabricated to grill 500 fishes every two hours powered with gas, biogas and charcoal will be distributed as part of its sustainable empowerment programs for women in Nigeria.
Responding, Mr Gatsby Kang, Sales Manager of Lima Machinery Company, China said the collaboration will further strengthen the existing relationship between the two countries.
“We want to use our equipment to help the local people using machines, because technology can bring huge yield in production and make meaningful difference in their lives,’’ he said.
He said that the feeds that would be produced were healthy and contains locally sourced food in right proportions to boost the growth and development of the animals that will be feeding on them.
In another development, the minister announced that the ministry had taken legal action in Enugu court against a mother and stepfather over negligence, sexual molestation and infecting diseases on a nine-year-old girl.
According to her, court procedures has commenced against Mrs Christabel Ewuru and her husband Mr Ifeanyi Ewuru to ensure they are prosecuted and the survivor gets justice.
She said that the owner of Peace Mass Transit, Dr Sam Onyishi, has promised to take up tuition for the girl’s education from primary to university level.
Similarly, the minister also disclosed that the first court sitting Nov.
21, against some staff on duty and management at the Maitama General Hospital over alleged negligence and refusal to treat Miss Greatness Olorunfemi, victim of “one chance’’ before her death at the hospital.
According to her, taking legal action against those found guilty will serve as deterrent to others and ensure people are held accountable for their action and inaction.
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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola