Ondo State Government has promised its continuous support for women’s involvement and participation in agriculture in the state.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Olayato Aribo, said this on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after a courtesy visit by members of NACCIMA Business Women Group (NAWORG) in the state.
NAN also reports that NACCIMA is the National Association of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.
Aribo, who noted that it was important to engage women and youths more in agriculture, said that more women had been trained in various skills in agriculture and nutrition.
“It is our plan to ensure more women participation in agriculture and we promise to do that.
“We encourage that women should participate more, because we have discovered that what you give to women will help more than what you give to men.
“I am not trying to flatter them (women), but the point there is: we need to collaborate with them to ensure that.
“We engage our women and we need them to also encourage our youths.
“We have trained them on dry season farming; we have also trained some of them on nutrition as well as how to do vegetable during dry and wet seasons.
“We have also gone ahead in the past to give them loans, clear farm and encourage them to go into cluster farming. We also urged them in value chain production for more profits,” he said.
According to Aribo, the state government has enough plans to ensure that more women and youths develop interest in agriculture.
Earlier, Coordinator of NAWORG in the state, Mrs Adefunmilola Williams-Daudu, congratulated the commissioner on his appointment.
She said that the association had, over the years, developed business activities and opportunities to benefit members with belief in green buildings.
Williams-Daudu urged the commissioner to encourage more women participation in agriculture and agribusinesses.
According to her, the association believes in green building, saying that this is good for environment, while it also provides immediate and long term economic benefits.
