By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat has trained over three hundred rural women across the territory in tomato processing and preservation technique.
During the training exercise in Gwagwalada Area Council on Tuesday, the FCT Mandate Secretary for Agric Secretariat, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim said the initiative was planned to improve the nutrition of the residents.
He explained that the women were drawn from FCT women groups to become trainers to others, which would support them save cost, minimize loss and improve nutritional intake in their homes.
According to him, using of organic products in the processing and preservation processes is in line with the ongoing global campaign to promote the practice of organic Agriculture for its nutritional and health benefits.
He disclosed that the collaboration between the FCT Administration, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on nutrition improvement, have been in existence since 2017.
“I want to assure you that the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat will ensure the sustenance of this programme. To this end, all the participants numbering 300 will be given free complementary training materials which include special bottles, tomatoes, onions and pepper to enable them practice their new found knowledge at home.
“I express appreciation on behalf of the FCT Administration to the management of JICA for their support and also to our women, who have no doubt endured so much difficulties, in order to ensure the wellbeing of their families” he said.
In his remarks, the Director Planning Research and Statistics of the ARDS, Yahaya Husseini, said the training is one of the activities of the FCTA to empower hardworking women to be self-reliance using local technology in the Territory.
He noted that the idea was apt, as it is the obligation and collective responsibility of managers of public institutions and key stakeholders in the industry to change the business of agriculture, which has been left mostly to the peasant farmers.
