The Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Jerome Pasquier, has reiterated the determination of his country to partner Nigeria in strategic areas in a bid to improve the plights of the citizens.
Pasquier spoke at the official launch of the ‘Support to Women Entrepreneurship in the Agric-food sector in Nigeria’ held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, on Friday.
Describing the project as one of the numerous developmental drives initiated by the French government to support Nigeria, the ambassador, said, “We are helping Nigerian women to improve their businesses in a bid to contribute to the country’s economic growth.
“Oyo and Kaduna states are chosen to pilot the empowerment drive and we hope that the training shall be made to spread to other states of the federation.”
Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, while launching the programme, expressed happiness over the inclusion of women in the state as beneficiaries of the SEFAN/SWEAN programme.
The governor, who stated that the relationship between Oyo State and the French government always brought about development, expressed appreciation to the French government for its part in the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project saying that the state had mapped out the roads that would benefit from the interventions.
He said, “This is your fourth visit to us here in Oyo State since 2019, if I am not mistaken. And each time we have met, our meeting has always been followed by development. So, I must say this is the type of friendship and relationship that we favour.
“I remember in one of your visits, one of the requests that we had made was that you should look into investing in our human capital development.
“I am glad that you took that request to heart and we are seeing the result in the form of this Support to Women Entrepreneurship in the Agri-food sector in Nigeria (SEFAN/SWEAN) programme. “So, let me again say thank you for honouring us in this way.
“We are delighted that our women in Oyo State are among the 300 direct beneficiaries of this programme. You have indicated that there will be 1,000 indirect beneficiaries in the immediate and, if my math serves me right, your projection is that each of the women will influence 3-4 other women. So, the reality of interventions like these is that they have the potential of accomplishing even more than is projected.
“Historically, our women have been known to be very enterprising. They do not only farm but they also find markets for their produce. Some even go as far as merchandising, making the best use of the informal structures that they have been exposed to. With the training they will be receiving during this SEFAN/SWEAN programme, I have no doubts that they will excel even more.
“I am always of the opinion that when the right people are given the right opportunities, they thrive. And knowing the antecedents of the French Government I know that the women you have chosen must have been carefully selected and they will put in their best and be worthy ambassadors of Oyo State and Kaduna State.”
The governor asked for more interventions for the state, pledging that any investment made in the state will go directly to the people, just as he noted that the state government’s collaboration with the IITA on the Start Them Early Program had begun to yield positive results.
Giving an overview of the SWEAN project, Dr. Darracq Sonia, Regional Agriculture Counselor, said, “Support to Women Entrepreneurship in the Agrifood sector in Nigeria aims to extend the skills development of women agripreneurs in Nigeria towards greater empowerment and their dynamic inclusion in market networks, both locally and internationally.”
She listed the objective of the programme to include setting up training in agribusiness for women entrepreneurs already established in the agri-food sector or with high potential to become entrepreneurs.
The Coordinator of the project, Ms. Zainatou Sore, said there were 300 direct beneficiaries in all from Oyo and Kaduna states with 1000 indirect beneficiaries with IITA as the lead implementing partner.
Under the project, the Deputy Director General of IITA, Dr. Kenton Dashiell, gave the assurance that the international institute would give technical support to the trainees in actualising the objectives of the programme.
While expressing gratitude to the French authorities on behalf of Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State, the Commissioner of Agriculture in the state, Ajia Alima Lawal, said, “I hope that this initiative would provide solution to some of the challenges that the women face in achieving gender equality and would serve as a benchmark for development to other states of the federation.”
