Ikorodu: The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Foundation has successfully completed training for more than 3,000 farmers in the Southern part of Nigeria, focusing on climate-smart and model agriculture techniques. The announcement was made during the closing session of the Southwest pilot training held on Friday in Ikorodu, Lagos.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the NNPC Foundation Ltd/Gte, which serves as the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of NNPC Ltd., was incorporated in February 2023 to manage CSR initiatives aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s socio-economic development. Speaking at the event, Mrs. Emmanuella Arukwe, Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, emphasized that the training aims to empower local farmers to increase agro-productivity.
“Today marks the formal conclusion of the first phase of a national journey that speaks to resilience, food security, and economic empowerment,” Arukwe stated. “What began as a bold decision to support smallholder farmers has translated int
o tangible actions across three geopolitical zones (South-East, South-South, and South-West) in Southern Nigeria. Across 10 locations in these zones, we trained over 3,860 vulnerable farmers in climate-smart agricultural practices.”
Arukwe explained that the training has helped strengthen farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change, improve market access, promote inclusive agriculture, and enhance food production through sustainable techniques. She also assured that the training would continue in other geopolitical zones of the country to further enhance food security.
“This is only Phase One. We will now turn our focus to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones. What we have achieved in the South will inform and strengthen our next steps,” she added.
Mr. Wasiu Adesina, Chairman of the Ikorodu Local Government Area, encouraged the farmers to utilize the training to boost their productivity and profitability. He expressed gratitude to the NNPC Foundation for equipping the farmers with modern ag
ricultural techniques.
“To the farmers, you have to take advantage of this training and face farming squarely. In some great countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, farmers are among the richest people because they make a lot of money from farming,” Adesina said.
He urged the NNPC Foundation to empower farmers economically to help them start productive ventures post-training. “If the farmers have land for farming, I believe the foundation will provide financial aid to keep their farms running,” Adesina added.
Ms. Abisola Olusanya, Lagos Commissioner of Agriculture and Food Systems, represented by Mrs. Osunkoya Daisi, Director of Fisheries, praised the foundation for its efforts in boosting food security. “On behalf of the Lagos State Government, we express our sincere appreciation to NNPC Foundation for training our farmers and for training all the farmers across the country,” Olusanya said.
The training initiative is part of a broader mission by the NNPC Foundation to support livelihoods
, build resilience, and empower farmers, contributing to the overall socio-economic development of Nigeria.