By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
A total of 100 small scale farmers from Bauchi and Gombe States, at the weekend, smiled home with farming inputs and 50,000 Naira Cash shared by the Federal College of Horticulture Dadin Kowa, Gombe State.
The distribution of the items and cash which took place on 23rd September, 2023, at the conference hall of Destination Hotel attracted small scale farmers drawn from rural communities of the Two States of Bauchi and Gombe.
In a short welcome address before the commencement of the distribution of the items, Mr. Kingsley Anyiam of INECHECK Consultants, that provided the technical support for the exercise, said that the empowerment effort is another initiative of the Federal Government through the Horticulture College, aimed at improving the living standards of vulnerable target groups that cut across men, women and youth within the North Eastern States of Bauchi and Gombe.
Mr. Anyiam said that, when utilized, the initiative would no doubt ensure food security at household level, the two states and Nigeria as a whole.
On his part, an official of the Federal College of Horticulture, Mr. Haruna Ayuba said that the selection of beneficiaries was painstakingly done using evidence based eligibility to target the right beneficiaries.
Ayuba then called on the beneficiaries not to sell the items, but utilize it in creating wealth through food production and value chain system.
In a goodwill message, a member of Bauchi traditional institution and community leader, the Sarkin Fulanin Bauchi, Alhaji Is’haq Sambo urged the beneficiaries to utilize the items and cash for the intended purpose.
Alhaji Sambo thanked the Federal College of Horticulture Dakin Kowa and INECHECK Consultants for the meticulous manner they deployed in ensuring that the items gets to the intended beneficiaries of the Two States of Bauchi and Gombe.
Earlier in his remarks, Coordinator of the empowerment program at State level, Mr. Musa Abdulhameed said that his team had gone round to several communities to identify beneficiaries using the criteria spelt out in the selection process.
He then thanked the beneficiaries for the orderly manner they demonstrated throughout the selection process pointing that it was a worthwhile exercise that paved the way for the empowerment program.
Speaking to our correspondent on the sideline, a beneficiary, Mariam Iliya expressed her gratitude to the Federal College of Horticulture and INECHECK Consultants for leading the process of distributing the empowerment items without fuss or rancor.
Mrs. Iliya assured that the items and cash received would be judiciously used for the intended purposes.
Other beneficiaries also thanked the Federal Government and implementers of the empowerment program for their thoughtfulness and seamless implementation of the exercise.