AS part of efforts to reduce poverty among womenfolk in the North Central geo-political zone of Nigeria, about 150 women farmers in Kwara State and environs have been trained by the Directorate of Nutrition and Women in Agriculture in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

Speaking with journalists at the end of a one-day workshop on farm entrepreneurship development for women in agriculture in Ilorin, the deputy director in the ministry, Mrs Zainab Towobola, said the importance of the programme was to empower women by training them as agriculture officers so they would be able to train rural and village women so as to empower them through entrepreneurship.

"We have several of the programmes courtesy of the minister and other officials in the ministry. They have always encouraged even young female university graduates to train in agricultural practice like aquaculture and livestock in order for them to be self reliant and contribute to their family's economic sustainability.

"There are examples of success stories like that among beneficiaries. We need women to be able to do things on their own because when they are empowered, the whole family is empowered," she said.

The agricultural expert, who said that women "do not have to wait on their husbands for salt or Maggi before food is put on table" went nostalgic saying, "I remember my mother was selling food from where the whole family ate. So, when you are well equipped with all these training programmes, you put poverty behind us.

"There are women from Ondo, Kogi, Oyo States; twice the number of all these are women from Kwara State, being the host state. As they come for the training programme, we give them stipend to take care of their transportation cost and feeding", she said.

The agriculture training programme, according to her, included aquaculture, snail breeding and livestock. She added that the women were given between 50 and 500 seedlings depending on number of states involved.

She also said that feeds and fibre glass tanks were provided free to the women to enable them start off. "In case of livestock, we also gave cages for chicks and 200 day-old chicks. We expect them to come and give their success stories when next we have another training, so they can encourage other people and benefit from the programme.

On how one can benefit in the programme, she advised women to form themselves into groups or cooperatives.

"From here, they can write to the ministry telling that they've seen the programme done in a state and want their group to benefit, including their certificate of incorporation to show that their application is genuine. And they will then send to the minister who gets it to the official in charge to carry it out", she said.

The advocate of women in agriculture also advised that women should come out, sit up and get rid of poverty and be self sufficient by taking advantage of the opportunity.

"For instance, when it's time to pay school fees, mothers can do so if the husbands are incapable. And you will be happy you can do something. Time has passed when you say you are ignorant of this or that," she said.

Some of the beneficiaries, who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune during the training programme expressed appreciation on the turnaround they had witnessed in their economic life and enjoined other women to make use of the opportunity.