The Benue State Governor, Rev. Hyacinth Alia, has paid 450 million naira in counterpart funding in partnership with the World Bank for the Nigerian Women Scale-Up Project, a project designed to empower women in various endeavours.
The Commissioner, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Hon. Mrs. Theresa Odachi Ikue, disclosed this at a one-day stakeholders’ engagement workshop, organized in collaboration with the Renewed Hope Initiative, for female food processors, held Thursday at the Ministry of Health and Human Services Conference Hall, Makurdi.
She explained that the project would be carried out in clusters of 25 or 50 per group, adding that recruitment of personnel for the project and a survey visit to the state have been done. Vandeikya LGA in Zone A, Gwer East in Zone B, and Okpokwu in Zone C will be the first LGAs to commence, after which it will be expanded to other LGAs after three months.
The Commissioner maintained that the workshop, with the theme “Food Processing: A Pathway to Food Security and Economic Development,” was both timely and critical, since women play a central role in agriculture and food systems in Benue State and the nation at large.
“From production to processing, preservation, and distribution, our women are the backbone of food security, but many female food processors still face significant challenges such as limited access to modern processing technologies, inadequate financing, poor market linkages, and insufficient capacity-building opportunities, among others,” she noted.
Hon. Ikue called on all stakeholders, government agencies, development partners, financial institutions, and the private sector, to work together in creating an enabling environment where women can thrive, as empowered women strengthen not only their families but transform communities.
She assured participants of the Ministry’s continuous support for initiatives that will promote skill acquisition and improve productivity. She urged them to maximize the workshop with solution-driven, innovative discussions, while applauding Governor Rev. Hyacinth Alia and the Renewed Hope Initiative for the programme.
Also speaking, the Coordinator, Renewed Hope Initiative, Hon. Scholastica Ben-sor, who was represented by Miss Grace Doose Awude, said the workshop was another platform to amplify the voices, challenges, and opportunities of women in the food processing value chain.
She said it was not enough to focus only on production while neglecting processing, preservation, packaging, and market access, as food processing is the bridge between abundance and sustainability, reducing post-harvest losses and creating jobs, among other opportunities.
Hon. Ben-sor charged the participants to take full advantage of the workshop by sharing experiences and building networks that will be sustained, to harness the power of food processing in order to drive economic development and secure a better future for Benue State.
Some of the participants, Mrs. Veronica Oche, CEO of Family Joy Foods; Dr. Helen Amina Owoicho, CEO of Akondu Enterprise; and Miss Oche Susan, CEO of Etacsue Oche Enterprise, unanimously appreciated the state government for the opportunity to showcase their products as processors, and described the workshop as eye-opening.
They also mentioned NAFDAC registration, lack of modern processing equipment, and limited funds, among others, as some of the challenges hindering bulk production to meet public demand, while calling on the government to assist them.
