Following the continuation of federal government’s resolve to mitigate the foreign importation of rice, the Japanese government over the weekend trained no fewer than forty Nigerian female local rice producers.
The three-day training programme was organized by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in collaboration with JICA Alumni Association of Nigeria (JAAN) in Karshi, Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Speaking with newsmen during the programme, the Project Coordinator, Japanese Embassy in Nigeria, Mio Nakano, said an amount of $180 million was budgeted to train Nigerian farmers directly.
“The Japanese government has been empowering women in various fields in Nigeria. Now we are training female rice farmers,” she said.
Nakano explained that with the way female rice producers are interested in the training, Japanese government will continue to do its best, saying the programme is aimed at training female farmers living in the deprived areas of the province in Abuja.
She added, “In total, Japanese government spent $773 million for loan aid, including polio vaccination all over the country. $459 million for brand aid and also $180 million for technical cooperation.
“This project is under the technical cooperation, we send agricultural experts from Japan and get them to train Nigerian farmers directly.”
On his part, President of JAAN, Ahmed Agberankhe, expressed surprise that people could turn up in their hundreds for the training.
He said, “Initially, we wanted to train 40 local rice producers here but when they heard the news of what we did at Karu local government area, you could see the hall is filled up. We believe it is like training the trainer because it’s going to have a multiplying effect.
“We cannot train 1000 people at the same time. We are willing to partner with government and agencies who may feel like since you have this technology, we will leverage on your technology and train more people.”