The Federal Government has dispersed 80 laptops to female farmers trained in Information and Communication Technology and modern agricultural practices.
They also empowered widows and the vulnerable in the South-South region.
The Director-General, National Centre for Women Development, Dr Asabe Bashir, said during the training in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the beneficiaries were drawn from various farmers associations across the South-South.
While speaking at the event themed ‘Engendering agricultural innovation through ICT,’ he said the training was designed to expose women to new techniques in agriculture that could help farmers in improving on their agricultural practices and methods.
“Agriculture employs over 75 per cent of the country’s workforce, yet the demand for agricultural produce keeps increasing as the population swells while many of the small-scale farmers are not able to meet up with the demands,” he said.
In her remarks, the wife of the state Governor, Dr Martha Emmanuel, lauded the Federal Government for complementing the efforts of the state in empowering female farmers and training them to meet global standards.
She said, “Information and Communication Technology is a vehicle that drives development in all sectors of the economy, including agriculture.
“It enables farmers to use research data and adopt technology necessary to accelerate growth in the agricultural sector.
“With many being equipped with this technology and knowledge, the goal of the Federal Government to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years will be realised and farmers will be able to contribute their quota to the economic growth and development of the country”
