Niger Delta
USAID, NGO Train 2,000 Youths, Women On Cassava Value Chain
Revemi Trade Limited, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), through a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has trained about 2,000 youths and women on cassava value chain in Delta State.
Revemi’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Oreva Amata, disclosed this at a capacity building workshop, tagged, “Eki Farmers Support Programme”, organised by the company for peasant farmers in Delta South Senatorial District in Ozoro.
Amata noted that the programme was sponsored by USAID in partnership with Delta State Government and Townstalk.
According to him, Revemi, an Integrated Agrotech and Agro Commodities Trading Company, has as target to train 10,000 based pyramid farmers and equip them with requisite information on how to plant, harvest, process and market their products to make money.
“We started the training in February this year, in Delta North. In June, we also trained those in Delta Central, and today, we are training farmers from Delta South Senatorial District in Ozoro.
“So far, we have trained over 2,000 low pyramid farmers but we are targeting 10,000 farmers in the State,” he said.
On the choice of cassava, Amata said that cassava remains a crop in which Nigeria has a comparative advantage in addition to the many by-product that cassava offers to the market.
Noting that it has capacity to grow Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products, he said: “Our mission is to bridge the critical gap in food security in Africa.
“As a first class graduate of economics, every time I heard that farmers are poor in Africa. This is contradictory because foreign nationals are making billions of money from agriculture.
“Revemi as winner of the COVID-19 Food Security challenge in 2021, we won a grant from the USAID to carry out this training to liberate our poor farmers from hunger, increase their income by linking them up to the market.”
“Agriculture is the backbone of development in any nation, it creates jobs for youths and women and also ensure security because the youths will be gainfully employed,” Amata said.
He said his company would link all the trained farmers to sources of finance, provide them with information on climate change, weather conditions and availability of land across the State and from government sources.
On his part, the Assistant Director, State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Mr Anslem Emikpe, advised the farmers to form clusters to enable them engage Government, access funds and land.
Also, Dr Friday Okei, a Resource Person, said training on cassava value chain exposes the farmers to varieties of byproducts of cassava, such as starch, flour, garri, chips, raw material for production of alcohols and drugs and others.
In an interview, Managing Director, Uzere Cassava Processing Factory, Mr Samuel Askia, urged the farmers and governments to take positive initiative on what the NGO is doing, adding that the training gives hope for a brighter future for farmers in Nigeria.
“It is time for us to see agriculture as a commercial venture, so that we can benefit from the support the government at the centre is giving,” he said.
The beneficiaries, Mr Lawrence Ugwologho and Mrs Martha Odus lauded the programme and thanked the organisers for impacting them with the right knowledge on best practices on cassava value chain.
They said the training had reawakened their minds on how to plant, harvest, process and market their cassava to make money for the family.
They, however, called for additional support in finance and land to expand cassava cultivation in the State.
The Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RSBOPP), says efforts are being made to strengthen the existing procurement processes leading to the award of contracts and jobs execution in the state to enhance service delivery.
The Board chairman of the RSBOPP, Lawrence Oko-Jaja, disclosed this while speaking to journalists in his office in Port Harcourt, after a meeting with staff of the agency, last Friday.
Oko-Jaja who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) stated that procurement had become a global issue, stressing that without a proper procurement plan, it would be difficult for any state or nation to move forward in the attainment of its developmental strategies and goals.
The chairman said that the Board had observed some improprieties in the procurement processes and assured that they would take every measure to ensure full compliance with the state procurement laws.
“We will ensure that the laws are followed and we have value for money. We must ensure that money is used for contract execution and not to enrich people’s pockets. We’ll ensure that the money being quoted for any job or contract corresponds with the prevailing market price. We are going to strengthen the monitoring and evaluating team of the Board to perform their duties; going to markets, verify the prices quoted for and also ensure compliance.
“We are going to look into the procurement laws to see how we can close the existing gaps noticed that are not in line with global practices. These measures will also affect local government councils in the state to ensure there is value for money and save money for the state government. And in doing so, the government can spread its services across the state and not in one place.
“His Excellency, the governor of the state has a mantra, “Rivers first”. We are going to ensure we assist him and the state government achieve this policy by ensuring that the procurement laws are complied with and things are done rightly. That is why we are here,” he said.
Oko-Jaja assured that members of the Board would justify the confidence reposed in them by the state governor for the benefit of the state.
Earlier, in an interactive meeting between Board members and staff of the agency, the Board chairman of RSBOPP told the excited workforce that the Board had approved the merger of some departments, namely Legal, Ethics Human Resources and the Facility Management departments to ensure maximum output and efficiency in service delivery.
He said that the Legal and Ethics departments had been merged as one department, adding the Human Resources and Facility Management departments had also been merged.
He told them that going forward every department would also be accountable for its responsibility and announced that the Board had also approved that conditions of service should be put in place for the staff of the agency so that they would grow like their counterparts in the state mainstream civil service.
Akujobi Amadi
The Rivers State Government says it would continue to address the needs of Civil Servants in the State.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara stated this during the Rivers State Civil Service 2025 New Year Thanksgiving Service, at the State Secretariat Complex in Port Harcourt, last Friday.
Speaking through his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, Governor Fubara said his Administration is willing and ready to do what will make Civil Servants happy, more hardworking, and more distinguished.
“I want to tell you that you have our ears, and you can tell because when the Head of Service gave his address, there were no demands because while you were yet asking, it was already executed. We want you to know that to whom much is given, much is expected. We do not take your love and support for granted.” Governor Fubara stressed.
The State Chief Executive urged Civil Servants to redouble and rekindle their energy to ensure that the Rivers State Civil Service becomes the envy of Civil Service in Nigeria, noting that the State Government is pleased to work as a family with Civil Servants.
He implored them to continue to uphold his Administration in prayers, which according to him has kept him thus far, adding that prayers would lead them for years to come while asking them to be proud of whom they are as Civil Servants.
In his address, the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr George Nweke, expressed gratitude to Governor Fubara for the implementation of the enhanced minimum wage, payment of Christmas bonus, improved retirement benefits, and creation of employment opportunities amongst others, as well as issuance of SME loans facility to deserving Civil Servants in the State.
Dr Nweke who said the theme of this year’s thanksgiving “Peace Be Still” reminds us that even amid turmoil and uncertainties you can find peace and calm in God’s presence while urging them to pray for continuous peace and development in the State.
In his sermon, the Dean Church of God, Anglican Communion, the Most. Rev. Blessing Enyindah who spoke on the theme “Peace Be Still” drawn from Mark 4:35-41, said storms of life may manifest in different ways and forms, causing us anxiety and sleepless nights but with Jesus Christ by our side, there is hope.
