To mark Nigeria’s 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) partnered with the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA) to offer agricultural training to women. Abdulsalami Ladigbolu, the president of UNESCO’s Read and Earn Federation (REF), disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday as part of the IWD celebrations. He stated that the training aimed to enhance the economic empowerment of Nigerian women.
Ladigbolu explained that the program involved the participation of wives of assistant inspectors-general and deputy inspectors-general of police from across the country in a hydroponics agriculture program in the United States. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, using a water-based nutrient solution instead.
He emphasized that the training would provide the necessary momentum to improve indigenous farming practices, leading to increased productivity through better linkages and incentives. He highlighted that this initiative was in line with President Tinubu’s administration’s focus on achieving food sufficiency and creating wealth and employment opportunities by enhancing the agricultural sector. This, in turn, would contribute to food and nutrition security in Nigeria.
Ladigbolu further noted that the training aligned with President Tinubu’s vision of establishing agricultural hubs across Nigeria, as outlined in his inaugural speech. He concluded by emphasizing that the training would also support the achievement of the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) advocated by President Tinubu.
