WAASA Partners DIzengoff To Improve Women Access To Machinery – Chi Tola Roberts
Executive Director and founder of Women in Agricultural Advancement and Sustainability Africa (WAASA), Chi Tola Roberts has said WAASA partnership with Dizengoff will help farmers in the group especially women access to machinery for land preparation and cultivation.
She stated this during a meeting of WAASA and Dizengoff Country Manager Antti Ritvonen in Dizengoff office in Oregun, Lagos stressing that the essence of the meeting is to collaborate with the company on training of her members on greenhouses and easy access to machinery.
She said for those in small scale farming, there is now an opportunity to own or lease such equipment at relatively low and affordable prices.
She further said WAASA believes in partnership that matter which explains why the group is collaborating with reputable organizations to bring the best in agriculture and agro allied productivity.
Roberts disclosed that WAASA was already engaging experts in aspects of agriculture to bring to the fore the latest trends about farming stating that with relevant information, it was certain agriculture will move to the next level.
He said WAASA in partnership Dizengoff is organizing a free training on greenhouses for about 200 women on the platform of WAASA, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), and Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) and that the first batch will be for farmers who are already into medium and large scale farming.
She further said WAASA needs the support of financial institutions and other agencies to help empower and support these women farmers, adding that the group is expecting to partner with Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and Bank of Industry (BOI) as soon as possible.
Responding, Antti said Dizengoff is always interested to work with any organization or anybody who is working in the area of agriculture.
He said the company will work with WAASA in a way that will favour both parties, stressing that on the proposed training. “Dizengoff will be willing and ready to use its expertise to disseminate the needed training and information needed to move the sector forward”.
“We will be willing to release our expertise to train this group because we are always interested in working with any group or anybody that is doing anything on agriculture so as to move the agricultural sector forward in Nigeria.
“We have a strong knowledge about greenhouses, so it would be quite easy for my staff to prepare and take them on the basic things they need to know about greenhouses, we have done this kind of training and presentations many times, so it is not something difficult for us to do,”
However, he said, in Nigeria, there are lot of small holder farmers so getting a tractor will be too big investment for them and based on their finance it would not make sense for them to buy individually.
He said the company will work with the group in such a way that they will form clusters or cooperatives where they can come together and buy this equipment.
“The small holder farmers needs to come together to form clusters in order for them to do the things the bigger farmers are doing,”
Speaking further, he said he is pleased with the kind of support agriculture is getting in Nigeria.
“I am kind of pleased to see that there is increase support for agriculture, the government is focusing on agriculture, I can see that there are increased activities on agriculture and that is obviously very good for the country.
“When agricultural production increases, it decreases importations and it is actually a very good way to generate jobs and I think it is definitely the way forward for Nigeria, Antti said.
By Seyi Taiwo-Oguntuase – Daily Independent
