The Catholic Diocese of Enugu Empowers 13 Graduate Farmers

August 1, 2022257 views0

The Catholic Diocese of Enugu Empowers 13 Graduate Farmers

2022-08-01T16:09:10+01:00

By Church News

The Catholic Diocese of Enugu has given N6.5 million to 13 graduate farmers, as part of its empowerment programme.The cash gifts were presented at St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Udi, during the inauguration and the graduation ceremony of the Mary Agro Farm Institute where the beneficiaries who were trainees of the farm were presented with N500,000 each.Speaking at the event, Reverend Ernest Obodo, the Director of Mary Agro Farm and Auxiliary Bishop of the Enugu Catholic Diocese said that the money was part of the empowerment package for the trained farmers to enable them to stand on their own.He stressed that the farm would be monitoring the beneficiaries to ensure that the money was specifically used for the purpose it was meant for.Reverend Obodo urged the beneficiaries to utilise the opportunity to become useful to themselves and their families.While noting that the farm project was divinely inspired for the uplift of humanity, the auxiliary bishop said that it was targeted at empowering youths to be self-reliant as well as reducing poverty and unemployment in society.According to the prelate, the farm project is also to encourage the young generation on the need to be hardworking and change their mindsets toward the urge for quick money.“Mary Agro Farm embarked on training interested individuals in modern agriculture through the help of our sponsor, HELP-TRANS-FAIR AUSTRIA. It is a six-month intensive programme where the trainees undergo rigorous training in integrated farming methods.”He continued, “Today, we are proudly celebrating the graduation of 13 successful foundation students. We have on the ground three poultry houses, two piggery houses, 20 fish ponds, and one classroom block. The farm has proved wrong many people, who erroneously believe that many crops could only grow in the western and northern parts of Nigeria.“Here in Udi, we have successfully cultivated onions, sweet potatoes, green beans, shombo and tatase pepper, tiger nut, cabbage, carrot, ginger, turmeric, lettuce, beetroot, cocoa and tomatoes,” he said.Reverend Obodo further said that the diocese had invested more than N200m in the farm’s pilot phase, which would be completed within the next five years.He expressed optimism that the farm would go a long way in solving the problem of food security in the state.ALSO READ New Leader of Catholic Church in Africa Emerges