Rotary Club Of Abuja Wuse II in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Minden, Nebraska USA has trained and donated farm inputs such as grain-seeder hand-planter, hybrid seeds, fertiliser, herbicides, insecticides, knapsack sprayers and also cash stipends to over 50 farmers and Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) in Wassa, Apo, a settlement in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The event is the first phase of the Rotary Foundation sponsored global grant project of Vocational Training Team for improved agricultural economy, aimed at introducing technology to the farmers for improved yields.
At the ceremony, president, Rotary Club of Abuja Wuse II, Rotarian Justina Princess Oladotun expressed joy over the success of the project, while thanking partners for their support.
“We couldn’t have gotten this far without the collaboration and cooperation of our partners; the Rotary Club of Minden, Nebraska in District 5630, USA, and our agricultural technical experts, Rotarian Fikayo Oyebiyi and Rotarian Kevin Raun, who have helped us with the training of the farmers in Wassa,” she added.
Oladotun said the project is a testament to the power of collaboration and international partnerships. “It is also a shining example of the kind of work that Rotary International Clubs are doing around the world to make a difference in their respective communities and make the world a better place. Let us continue to work together and make a positive impact on earth.
“Now that this phase is over; the next phase is the monitoring, evaluation and data gathering; as a measure of sustainability, our local agronomics partner organization, shall continue working with the beneficiaries and community at large to deepen their knowledge and practice on the new farming method and global best practices they were trained on.”
Also , Rotarian Kevin Raun, an expatriate said the technology brought, is simple, and a step, which will continue for the farmers.
“I am a farmer like these folks here, but I don’t work as hard as they do. So, this is a way to extend some goodwill, and maybe a little bit of a step-up. A journey they say, starts with one step, so this is a step.
“So, as far as following up, we have a team here in Nigeria that will follow this project through the season so we can see the results of what we have done, and be able to take measure of those results to give us some data of how it’s going. This project is meant to be sustainable. It’s meant to come to this community and stay here, and hopefully we can get some local manufacturing to produce the planter, so it can remain here.”
The community head of the VTT Project, Ayuba Ngbako, who thanked the club for the support and innovation, said he had learnt a lot from the project. “Our method of planting before was very stressful, but with the introduction of this technology, it will help us to improve our production. It will also hasten our speed of tilling the soil and planting.” The project will be monitored by USAIFA International Limited.
