Our NGO Exposes Subsistence Farmers To Technologically Advanced Methods Of Agriculture—Bright Okwu, National Coordinator, Africa Farming Project
OpenLife Nigeria reports that Dr. Bright Isaac Okwu, the National Coordinator of Africa Farming Project and an agribusiness corporate marketing and information consultant, has disclosed how his NGO is elevating subsistence farmers to high tech farming methods.
In this interview with OpenLife Senior Staff Writer, Isaac Ngumah, Okwu who creates, nurtures and sustains developmental ideas to produce results that transform people and organizations for business growth, wealth creation and economic empowerment, explains how over 60,000 youths across the board in Nigeria have been trained under his leadership
ABOUT AFRICA FARMING PRODUCTS
Africa Farming Project is a non governmental organization, centered on agriculture and the purpose of the organization is to bring the subsistence farmers from their local way of farming to technological advanced farming.
It is meant to encourage the youths to participate in agriculture by supporting them in a training and also empowering them to take over from the old farmers that are already out.
Also, we set up this NGO because we want people to get out of poverty and the only way is through agricultural enterprise.
YOUTHS TRAINED SO FAR?
We have trained over 60,000 youths across the board in Nigeria.
WHAT IS ALLIANCE FOR A GREEN REVOLUTION IN AFRICA?
We have supported the small scale farmers with information.
Every year we supply information to farmers over 5million farmers with every aspect of information, we have Nigeria farming magazines and other magazines on agricultural information we distribute free to farmers,
we have established three major training centers in the three geographical zone of the country we have Ecowas Aviana west African international expo.
We are partnering ECOWAS Secretariat, African Union and also federal ministry of agriculture.
We have exhibition and training centers in Abuja, Enugu, Owerri, Benin, Ondo, Ibadan, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ebonyi, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna etc.
So we have all these training centers that we use to train farmers years back, and it has done a lot to build youths in agriculture.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR MISSION, FOCUS
Our focus is centered on agriculture as one of the most vibrant and economically oriented added advantages not only to individual but to the nation, Nigeria and also the nation to use agriculture as number one oil.
It can generate revenue for the country and individual and it makes people grow rich. Our focus is to help people grow in agriculture.
Our mission is to make the small scale farmers to become big farmers to take farmers out of poverty level of operation to be rich by helping them with the technology to improve theirs farming skills.
The impression of people is that every farmer is poor. We want to let the world know that the richest people in the world today are farmers. The agricultural industry is bigger than the banking industry.
Africa farming projects has built an agricultural information network in west African where we disseminate information to farmers so that they can grow from the level they are to the next level.
IN SPECIFIC TERM, HOW DO YOU CARRY OUT YOUR OPERATIONS?
We have done that by giving training to already practicing farmers encouraging people to come into farming business through training, training the youths and also empowering them we are into supplying of information to the various chains of agriculture to make sure they can get the necessary information.
Information is power and when they get the right information, they can be able to improve their farming skills.
To pass information across to them, we have about four different magazines which we use so that they can improve their farming skills.
We have the biggest agricultural data information services which started since 1994 not only in Nigeria but in all parts of West Africa.
The data we have collected have helped to bring a lot of investors into Nigeria through agriculture. We network the Nigerian state and farmers in states.
We have established the International exhibitions and local exhibitions and training centers.
We have the farmers forum where manufacturers and the practicing farmers meet to share experiences, share Ideas and also network among both local and international farmers.
We bring the banks, insurance companies, government, Embassies together to share information and relate with one another.
We also do this through B2B exhibition where we have been able to let the farmers have access to information to promote agriculture from stage one to 100. We have helped farmers to grow in their enterprise.
CHALLENGES SO FAR
The major challenge we have so far is polices which are not stable. Government keeps changing polices with new government coming into power. Instead of growing agriculture, they take it backward.
Another challenge we are having is farmers themselves. They are self centered. Most of them don’t want to pass the knowledge they have gotten to others. The funding is also a challenge we are having.
Funding agricultural has been very low in Nigeria. That has affected farmers. We are appealing to government to look into it. Money from government doesn’t reach the real farmers.
WHAT DRIVES YOU
I have a passion to see people get out of poverty. I don’t have the resources to give to people so I have to create an idea that can give people their livelihood and make them increase their income and also live a better life.
HOW DID YOU RAISE SUPPORT TO START YOUR NGO?
We have not gotten support neither from the government nor any other International organization.
We generated money for ourselves through our ideas
God Almighty gives us grace and the power to use our wisdom to drive the projects, no bank has given us any money to support us.
The only time that we got support was when the American government discovered what I was doing in Nigeria and they invited me over to come for training and they did not give any money. They sponsored the training and after the training I came back to Nigeria to share the ideas to farmers in Nigeria.
We have trained over 60,000 farmers and youths without collecting one naira.
Our trainings are free. We have been able to impact the lives of farmers by giving them free information.
Our magazines are free for farmers. What we do are free except exhibitors and they are big companies who pay during our exhibitions.
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